Tennyson: Politics has no place in Oklahoma pensions

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Unlike most Oklahomans, our state’s firefighters are not eligible for Social Security. Instead, we have been automatically enrolled in the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System (OFPRS) since it was established back in 1981. This means that after a lifetime of keeping Oklahomans safe, we cannot rely on the most common American retirement benefit to support our families – making the performance of our public pension that much more important.

It’s not hard to see why firefighters like me worry about elected officials imposing political restrictions on pension investments. Two years ago, Oklahoma lawmakers passed a law – coined the Energy Discrimination Elimination Act – that blacklisted certain investment managers that supposedly limited their investments in energy companies. The law then required Treasurer Todd Russ to compile and maintain a list of these companies that were allegedly boycotting the energy industry without requiring any proof of harm done to Oklahomans.

Luckily, the Oklahoma courts recently ruled this law unconstitutional, permanently blocking Treasurer Todd Russ’ political blacklist and helping protect Oklahoma retirees. The court’s decision was based on a provision in the state constitution that says Oklahoma’s retirement funds are “for the exclusive purpose of providing for benefits, refunds, investment management, and administrative expenses of the individual public retirement system, and shall not be encumbered for or diverted to any other purposes.” And that is absolutely correct. The courts found no room for political preferences or goals in retirement – just supporting retirees.

Firefighters don’t come to this debate with politics in mind. We simply want to protect ourselves and our families. Current and future retirees across public and private sectors — no matter what political views they hold — have similar goals for life after their careers end. They want secure financial futures.

Many people’s retirement plans are some combination of savings, Social Security, and a pension or 401(k). That’s simply not the case for retired firefighters here in Oklahoma.

And unfortunately, Americans on average just don’t have enough money in their personal savings to retire without strong pensions or Social Security. A comfortable retirement for a public employee often requires a combination of savings and a pension – especially if Social Security is not an option for firefighters like myself.

However, those who put their life on the line day after day for decades to keep Oklahomans safe should not be forced to rely more heavily on their personal savings due to the political aspirations of elected officials like Treasurer Todd Russ significantly reducing the returns they receive from their pension.

Oklahoma’s retirees deserve pensions that are managed soundly, with investments based on finance, on safety, and with an eye on generating the highest possible returns —assuring benefits for retirees and protecting taxpayers who are ultimately on the hook if investments underperform.

Retirement can be scary and overwhelming. It’s certainly hard enough without introducing political motivations for which investment managers our retirement systems can and cannot use – especially if that means being forced to accept reduced returns and/or increased costs.

Our pensions have one goal and one goal only: to create a pool of money that funds eligible employees after they retire. It’s that simple. Elected officials must remember that. They should be working for the constituents that elected them and leave financial policies and practices to the professionals.

Mike Tennyson is a firefighter.