According to data from the Missouri State Employees Retirement System (MOSERS), a buyout program for retirees should save the $8 billion pension system an estimated $90 million after 22% of former employees opted for a lump-sum payout, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
To reduce the system’s long-term liabilities, the lump-sum buyout program was offered in September, after being approved by lawmakers, to former state employees who were not receiving pensions and had left the payroll before June 30. .
Upon approval, MOSERS sent letters giving 17,000 former workers the option to either cash in on the majority of their earnings or wait until they’ve reached retirement age for full benefits. With the deadline ended on November 30, MOSERS revealed that 3,748 former state workers decided to take the lump-sum payout.
Of those lump-sum receivers, MOSERS reported the average age of the former employees was 47, who forfeited an average of $380 per month. The average state employment tenure was nine years.
While the average check amount is expected to be roughly $14,000, MOSERS is expecting $2.5 million in first-year savings.
More than 2,000 of the checks have been mailed out, the Post-Dispatch reports.