Budget conference: House, Senate seal pension boost deal, near final budget agreement
Top legislative budget negotiators from the House and the Senate have agreed to boost pension benefits, closed out the health care portion of the budget and reached a deal on funding for K-12 and higher education buildings and maintenance, nearing an accord on a final spending plan for the fiscal year that begins July 1.
In a Saturday evening meeting, the House agreed to a Senate offer to remove the restrictive window to enter the Deferred Retirement Optional Program (DROP), which allows retirement-age workers to continue accruing benefits while still working, and extend the time employees can participate in DROP from five years to eight years.
The interest rate applied to an employee’s mont...
