Vermont legislators, along with state Treasurer Jim Douglas, plan to...

Vermont legislators, along with state Treasurer Jim Douglas, plan to review the state’s Employees’, Teachers’ and Municipal Retirement Systems this summer. The three systems total $2 billion in assets. In addition, the state defined contribution plan, covering 12% of state employees, totals $22 million. Mr. Douglas expects the "special retirement study committee’’ to consider whether the three systems need to remain separate, whether to equitize workers’ benefits, whether to expand the number of employees in the defined contribution plan and whether to let municipalities take control of the municipal retirement system. The committee was created to "identify areas in which policies of and benefits offered by the various systems have become inequitable and consider appropriate adjustments in pension policies to eliminate or reduce these inequities.’’ A final report is expected Jan. 15.