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Under the Wisconsin Retirement System [WRS], state and local government employees build their pensions through both employer and employee contributions. State statutes require an employee contribution to the retirement fund, but in virtually every case, the government employer picks up the employee's share of the contribution. Thus, taxpayers are on the hook for both the employee's and employer's share of the employee's future retirement benefits - usually around 10% of that employee's paycheck.

In 2007, governments paid 99.6% of all the contributions to the WRS. With more than 263,000 participants in the program, state and local governments are expected to pay $2.6 billion in employee retirement benefits in the next budget - roughly half of which is the ill-named "employee" contribution. If government employees actually invested their own funds in the WRS, state and local governments could save hundreds of millions of dollars over a two-year budget span.

Why not go where no Dem or Republican State Rep. has gone before? Be courageous...be innovative… be fiscally prudent... be known for reducing the size and cost of state, local and county government. There is no better time than right now....to change the irresponsible policy of having the taxpayers pay the employee share of WRS; …. Now the state of Wisconsin is facing more than a $6 B shortfall....; utilize the tax savings to reduce layoffs and/or furloughs of some state employees. Counties, municipalities and school districts could also use the tax monies saved by their employees paying their own employee share of WRS by filling their budget holes in with said savings.

• 99% of public sector employers (state taxpayers) pick up most, if not all, of employee retirement contributions to the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRA): and
• In 2010 the contributions from these same taxpayers are expected to increase due to 2008 investment losses
• The people who fund these benefits have been responsible for fuding the overwhelming majority of their own retirement contributions
• These same taxpayers have seen their own retirement plans decimated and will have to work well past their planned retirement dates, working longer and living on substantially less
• ….

Now therefore, be it resolved that the Republican Party of Wisconsin… calls for our legislators to bring public sector benefits in line with the private sector through a plan similar to the Northeast Wisconsin Chamber Coalition’s “Benefit Equity” proposal which would provide new employees in the public sector with lower pension contributions, less expensive health coverage and more reasonable leave practices….

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