- State legislators propose reintroducing pensions for new corrections officers.
- Pension plans for state employees, including corrections officers, stopped 27 years ago.
- The new bills would also allow current officers to buy into the pension system.
- Retired officer Shana Fischer believes pensions are crucial for hiring and retention.
- The bills are now with the House Committee on Labor in Lansing.
For your convenience, the skimmable summary above is generated with the assistance of AI and fact-checked by our team prior to publication. Read the full story as originally reported below.
Shana Fischer worked in prisons across mid-Michigan for more than 27 years.
She started work before the state removed the pension plan for correctional officers.
“I probably wouldn’t have made it 5 years had I not had that pension to look forward to and that’s definitely what kept me in my job,” Fischer said.
Now, new corrections officers are offered a 401-k for retirement but bringing back the pension, is one idea to help with staffing issues at the Michigan Department of Corrections, or MDOC.