Patrick's statement on passage of Senate Bill 12

 Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick: Statement on the Unanimous Passage of Senate Bill 12 "SB 12 takes a principled conservative approach to pension reform and is the right thing to do for our retired teachers." 

AUSTIN - Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick issued this statement today following unanimous passage of Senate Bill 12 – the Retired Teachers’ Security Act, by Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston: 

“I have repeatedly told our retired teachers that my goal is to keep the Teacher Retirement System (TRS) solvent forever. Senate Bill 12, which unanimously passed the Texas Senate today, provides a secure pathway to achieving that goal. 

“SB 12 takes a principled conservative approach to pension reform and will bring actuarial soundness to TRS. Ensuring that Texas doesn’t get mired in mounting pension debt, as we see in too many other states, must remain a top priority for Texas.” 

SB 12 will also provide a 13th check for retired teachers in 2020. TRS is the 13th largest pension system in the world. It provides benefits to over 420,000 people. Under Lt. Gov. Patrick’s leadership, the state has added over a billion dollars to TRS Care including $200 million in the 2017 Special Session. In September, Lt. Gov. Patrick took the lead in asking the TRS Board not to raise health care premiums, so that retired teachers would not have to bear that additional burden.