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Gov. Patrick Hopes To Reform State Pensions

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Gov. Deval Patrick gives his "State of the State" address. (AP)
Gov. Deval Patrick gives his "State of the State" address. (AP)

When the French government proposed raising the national retirement age due to huge budget shortfalls in its pension system, many French citizens took to the streets.

The state of Massachusetts is also proposing raising the retirement age for public pensions-holders - and we're not talking about 62. The current minimum retirement range for most Massachusetts public employees is 55. The proposed change would bump that up to 60.

No marching in the streets around Beacon Hill. Not yet, at least. But not everyone's happy, either.

Nevertheless, when he unveiled the new legislation this week, Governor Deval Patrick said the state stands to save an enormous amount of money:

"Taken together, these proposals generate over $5 billion in pension funding savings over 30 years, including an estimated $2 billion in cities and towns," Patrick said.

We'll look at governor's proposed changes to the pension system and what they might mean to the state economy.

Guest:

  • Alicia Munnell. chair, Governor's Commission on State Pensions; director, Center for Retirement Research, Boston College

More:

This program aired on January 20, 2011.

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