SALEM, Ore. — The Oregon Supreme Court says some of the 2013 cuts to public-employee retirement benefits are unconstitutional.
The court’s ruling on Thursday wipes out much of the savings that lawmakers were aiming for. It’s likely to require larger pension contributions for state and local governments, including school districts, starting in 2017.
The justices ruled that workers were promised an annual inflation increase of up to 2 percent, and the Legislature can’t scale it back retroactively.
Cities and school districts say they’re disappointed in the ruling and warn that it will lead to larger class sizes and diminished government services.
Lawmakers enacted the cuts to give government agencies a reprieve from a massive spike in retirement costs following the Great Recession, which wiped out a chunk of the pension fund’s investments.
