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Show Private retirement option attracts city attention Seeing greater benefits for its 60 employees, the Vernal City Council is considering offering city workers the option op-tion of entering a private retirement program pro-gram and gettting out of the State Retirement Retire-ment Program. The main reason for the interest in a private retirement program is that private firms are offering substancially higher benefits. Under the state retirement program, city workers only receive half of what they and the city put into the program if they terminate work with the city before retirement. City Manager Kenneth Bassett said that 95 percent of the employees for the city terminate before they retire. Of 25 employees in the city's public works department, all but three would receive more benefits under the private firm's retirement program. A private firm has offered the city a retirement program where the employees and the city would be reimbursed reim-bursed 100 percent of what they put into the program should a city worker ter- minate. The city has paid the company $360 to lock them into a January 1, 1982, interest rate. The reason for the binder, $360 Bassett told the council Wednesday, is the State Legislature, now in session, could act on a bill propsed by Senator Carl Snow requiring re-quiring all cities to be on the state retirement retire-ment program retroactive to Jan. 1, 1983. Cities already offering other programs pro-grams won't be affected. Councilman Jack Seitz said he thought it a good idea to offer city employees the option of the state or private retirement programs. Other comments at the city meeting by Jack Stagg, councilman, showed more concern about the state's retirement program. At local government official's day at the legislature, Stagg said that Governor Matheson said that a $26 state budget. Becuase the council was uncertain what direction the legislature would go with the state retirement program, it was decided to hold all action until the legislature made a decision. |