The Washington Department of Retirement System, Olympia, and its director, John Charles, are being sued because the Legislature authorized reductions in the state’s contributions in 1999 and 2000 due to the $46 billion fund’s strong performance. The lawsuit was brought by the Washington State School Retirees Association and the Retired Public Employees of Washington, representing 50,000 retired state employees. The retirees challenged the cutbacks in state Supreme Court Monday, arguing that the reduced contributions will reduce the earnings of the fund’s investments, and that will lower the cost-of-living increases for retirees, according to the complaint.
Retirement system officials cannot comment on pending litigation, said Donna Wells, DRS spokeswoman.
