During its regular session, the General Assembly passed legislation that allows localities to opt out of paying a 5 percent member contribution to the Virginia Retirement Services (VRS) for employees hired after July 1. In a recent joint meeting of the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors and the School Board, officials decided to do just that.
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“The uncertainty, going forward, of how the state intends to manage this program was the main reason why we actually chose this path,” says Ann Mallek, chair of the Board of Supervisors. |
“At first, we were inclined to have Albemarle County pick up the cost burden and make the 5 percent contribution on the new teachers’ behalf,” says Eric Strucko, vice chair of the School Board, in an e-mail. “We were concerned that not doing this would create two classes of employees and put us at a competitive disadvantage to recruit and retain teachers. We were dedicated to maintaining the fairness across all staff.”
Yet, says Strucko, as the conversation got deeper, officials realized that the other changes in the new legislation made having two classes of employees inevitable.
“For current employees, the benefit is based on an average of the highest salaries for three consecutive years,” says Strucko. “For employees hired after July 1, the benefit is the average of the highest salaries for five consecutive years”—which could potentially include lower salary levels.
Under the new system, employees who pay the 5 percent contribution may also withdraw funds from VRS. “If the county made the 5 percent contribution on behalf of the employee, the employee would have to wait several years…before being vested, and thus having access to the full amount,” says Strucko.
Ann Mallek, chair of the Board of Supervisors, says that county officials anticipate addressing this issue again next year. “We are trying very hard to be as fair as we possibly can be to employees and it seemed better not to offer it in the beginning and then to yank it away next year,” she says.
While new staff will pay VRS, county officials also committed to a base salary increase of 5 percent for hires made after July 1.
“This is how we are thinking of maintaining equity among all staff,” says Strucko. “The total compensation of all staff, base salary plus all benefits, will remain comparable.”
But Robley Jones, director of the Office of Government Relations and Research for the Virgin-
ia Education Association (VEA), says that these decisions are putting Albemarle in a tough spot to recruit employees.
“I think they need to take this into consideration. The vast majority of divisions in Virginia are paying the 5 percent,” Jones tells C-VILLE. He adds that VEA will get information out to students in teaching preparation programs about those localities that stopped picking up the tab.
“There is no way for me to predict how it’s going to affect our chances,” says Mallek. “I do know that the county is an excellent place to work and I think there will be many people who still come to us for many different reasons.”
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