Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor and Public Employment, to which was referred S.B. No. 2078, S.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to require the Employees' Retirement System (ERS) to pay interest on pensions that are not processed and issued within 90 days of a member's retirement.

The ERS commented on this measure.

Your Committee finds that if a new retiree must wait 90 days for retiree's initial retirement check, the retiree could face undue hardship while attempting to pay for living and housing expenses unless the retiree has other sources of savings. Under these circumstances, the retiree may have to make difficult decisions between buying food or medicine or paying the rent. Your Committee finds that it is not unreasonable to require the ERS to pay interest on pensions that are not processed and issued within 90 days.

However, your Committee understands the concerns raised by ERS regarding the amount of interest to be paid to pensioners should the processing and issuing of pensions exceeds 90 days.

Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Labor and Public Employment that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2078, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2078, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.