Union lawyer, PERS chief: Options are limited

The head of the Public Employees Retirement System of Mississippi says the $20.7-billion retirement trust fund is constitutionally protected but she doubts the benefits of retirees and public sector workers enrolled in the plan have the same protections.

“However, this could be debated,” said Pat Robertson, PERS executive director.

She cited a 1986 amendment to the Mississippi Constitution in noting the protections for the fund itself.

Robertson said the interpretation is that the members have a contractual right to their benefits. “That being said, the courts would have to decide that,” she said.

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