Several state agencies have notified governor elect Lamont that large swaths of the state workforce will likely retire within the next few years. The departures could result in a drain on institutional knowledge throughout state agencies as well having an impact on state finances, according to an article published by the Associate Press.
A spokesperson for Lamont's transition team, Lacey Rose, said the incoming Governor is aware that Connecticut faces a "significant change in its workforce" and that "The Governor-elect's administration will work closely with agency and department leadership to ensure that this is a workforce transition and not a workforce disruption," adding that Lamont's administration will take "deliberate steps to retain valuable institutional knowledge and develop hiring plans that attract the best and the brightest to public service."
Addressing the issue, Comptroller Kevin Lembo released a statement indicating that "The state must prepare for significant immediate and long-term challenges, and that includes the threat of a substantial retirement surge" and that "The ramifications could be considerable to the stability of the state's pension funds, health plan and its workforce." Lembo's office has begun a review to determine how mass retirements will affect efforts to reduce Connecticut's unfunded pension and retiree health care obligations. Also, he said state agencies will need to prepare for the retirements by developing "new talent and institutional knowledge" in the coming years.
According to an analysis by the Office of Policy and Management (OPM), changes to state employee benefits and an aging workforce are driving the expected retirement surge. OPM estimates that approximately 40 percent of existing staff may retire by 2022 as a result of cost-saving measures contained within the 2017 SEBAC Agreement, which included changes to cost of living adjustments to pensions effective which become effective July 1, 2022.
Read the entire Associated Press article at US News and World Report