Supreme Court Sets Jan. Hearing in Pension Merger Dispute

Options appear limited for addressing the pension woes of more than 1,000 retirement-ready educators, after the state Supreme Court delayed any possible action in the situation until 2008.

As The Charleston Gazette reports, the court has set a Jan. 8 hearing for the Consolidated Public Retirement Board to argue that the justices should hear its appeal in the case.

Earlier this year, a Kanawha Circuit Court judge blocked the proposed merger of 401(k)-style retirement accounts with the state's traditional pension fund for teachers. A number of these account holders, in the Teachers Defined Contribution (TDC) program, argued that the state was taking their private property with its merger plan. The judge agreed.

With the 2008 regular session starting the day after the Supreme Court hearing, lawmakers are unlikely to meddle unless the justices refuse to hear the case.

And the timing is also bad for state officials for another reason. They told the Gazette "that even if the court agrees to (hear) the appeal and overturns the lower court ruling, it would take about six months to complete the merger — too late to accommodate TDC participants who hoped to retire in June."