CHARLESTON, W.Va. — An organization which advocates for 9-1-1 dispatchers hoped to convince lawmakers this year to improve their retirement plan.
Leaders with the West Virginia E-911 Council are asking for legislation to move all members in the 911 system into the EMS Retirement system.
The Register-Herald, Beckley)
“It’s a much better system than the PERS retirement system,” said Dean Meadows, executive director of the E-911 council.
Last year, lawmakers approved a bill which allowed all 911 operators hired after July 1 to automatically be included in the more lucrative EMS Retirement. However, the rest who have been on the job for years are still in the Public Employees Retirement System.
The change would increase the payout from 2 to 2.75 percent under the EMS system. Meadows said it would also be a strong tool to keep seasoned 911 dispatchers on the job.
“We’re sure of that because we’ve seen when someone gets in that position other areas can pull them away like EMS or even law enforcement because they have a better retirement system,” Meadows said.
A reclassification last year placed 9-1-1 operators into the same class as First Responders. Meadows said that classification helps to make their case.
“It’s a stressful job and we feel like it would be more lucrative to keep people if we keep them in the position,” he said.
Currently about 700 911 operators in the state could potentially qualify to jump from the PERS system to the EMS system. Meadows said he doubts all of them would want to make the shift, particularly those about to retire, but he expected most would be interested in the change.
The EMS retirement system also makes is easier to retire. The EMS retirees can leave the job with 20 years of service after age 50. The current status is 25 years of service at age 55.
SB 452 was introduced this session to address the technical cleanup of the measure which passed last year. Meadows said that bill doesn’t address what they hope to accomplish. They’re working with some key lawmakers in hopes of drafting a new bill to be introduced to make the changes this session.