Senate Panel Rejects Charges To Pension Benefits

Some 52,000 state employees can breathe a collective sigh of relief after a state Senate panel rejected legislation that would have reduced their potential pension benefits.The Senate Retirement Committee voted 4-2 Sunday to involuntarily defer the House-passed legislation that would have changed how retirement benefits are calculated.  By taking the action the panel effectively killed House Bill 530, which would have computed employee benefits using their final average compensation over five years instead of the current three when pay is usually highest.