22 percent take MOSERS buyout

Just more than 22 percent of former state employees who were eligible to buy out their state retirement benefits did so, the Missouri State Employees Retirement System reported this week.

The voluntary program, authorized by a state law passed this year, allowed MOSERS to offer 17,005 former state employees the option of taking a lump-sum payment now - closing their eligibility for future retirement payments - or keeping their money in the system so they could begin taking state retirement payments after reaching eligibility.

MOSERS said 3,748 of those former state employees applied for the lump-sum payment.

"The savings from the buyout initiative reduced the total MOSERS liability by more than $86 million and reduced net liability by more than $34 million," the retirement system said in a news release. "Over time, the savings in employer contributions is expected to total nearly $90 million with first-year savings of approximately $2.5 million."

The average one-time, lump-sum payment is $14,044.

MOSERS will process the associated payments during December and January.

The former employees had an average nine years of service when they left state government, at an average age of 39. Now they average 47 years old, and they're giving up an average $380 in monthly benefits.

The agency noted all information is "preliminary until the final applications have been processed and verified."