Letter to the Editor:

When I first read Anne Michael’s recent letter regarding the Iowa Public Employees Retirement System (IPERS) I wasn’t going to respond. Her claims about IPERS weren’t just wrong, they were incoherent, so I thought few would pay attention to it.

In her letter Anne claimed that the IPERS funds, an amount currently in the range of $34 billion, were moved into some sort of “Property Tax Fund” by the legislature. This is totally false, and frankly, bizarre. No changes have been made to IPERS by the legislature, and we certainly haven’t moved their funds to some other account. This claim is a pure fabrication, whether it’s coming from Anne or from some other source she’s listening to.

IPERS is safe, and sound. It’s regarded as one of the most sound pension programs in the nation. If anyone wishes to check this they can go straight to IPERS by calling them at 800-622-3849, by accessing their website at www.IPERS.org, or by accessing the website “The Truth About IPERS” at thetruthaboutipers.org/

Furthermore, most legislators are invested in IPERS as state employees, and Governor Reynolds is depending on IPERS for her retirement as well, she’s paid into it since she became a county treasurer decades ago. Everyone in the legislative and executive branches of state government has a vested interest in maintaining IPERS for the benefit of our constituents and ourselves. IPERS strength is critical to our state’s economy and we all know that.

Unfortunately, the letter did upset many people. Several have contacted me and I have been able to ease their minds by explaining that nothing whatsoever has changed with regards to IPERS. What finally prompted this letter was an elderly lady from my district who saw the article that called me this week. She was in tears and said she had not slept the night before after reading the letter in the paper. I am appalled to know that Democrat scaremongering tactics are causing this much distress amongst our retired persons. It’s disgusting, and the Democrats doing this must be held accountable for creating this kind of fear amongst our citizens for no reason other than political attacks. Shamefully, Democrats have made a habit of using IPERS fears as a weapon, and it must stop. I hope you will join me in condemning these phony scaremongering tactics.

Rep. Dean Fisher

R – Montour