Closing A Pension Loophole

Thursday, July 19th 2007, 6:23 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A state senator says he will work with state officials to close a loophole that allows some elected officials to reap huge retirement benefits if they previously worked for the county or state.

Senator Mike Mazzei, a Tulsa Republican, says he will be happy to work with officials of the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System to fix the problem.

Mazzei tried to close the loophole last year, but withdrew the plan after it was watered down in the state House.

Tom Spencer, the executive director of OPERS, says he would recommended to his board later this year to again support legislation to address the issue, which has permitted some state and county officials to make much more in retirement than they did while in office.

According to OPERS officials, more than 500 elected officials, mostly at the county level, have received enhanced retirements because they did government work before they were elected.