UH officials' pensions smaller

By Deborah Adamson
Advertiser Staff Writer

Two dozen of the highest paid state employees — including University of Hawai'i president Evan Dobelle and football coach June Jones — will have their pension benefits reduced under a bill awaiting Gov. Linda Lingle's signature.

The state pension fund pushed for the change to bring Hawai'i in line with federal standards.

The amount of the reduction depends on each employee's circumstances. If Dobelle were to stay at the university for 15 years at his current salary of about $442,000, the proposed law would cut his annual pension in half to roughly $60,000.

"I'm not in it for the pension; I'm in it for the passion," Dobelle said.

The bill affects public employees making more than $205,000 this year. That includes 22 university employees, one at Hawai'i Health Systems Corp. and one in the executive branch.

"If we don't do this, the IRS could take away our tax-exempt status," said David Shimabukuro, administrator of the state Employee Retirement System, which manages the pension fund for nearly 98,000 state and county current and former employees and their beneficiaries.

The bill would also bring down the state's costs for financing pensions. The ERS asked the state for an additional $357,350 recently to cover pension obligations to highly paid individuals who will be vested, or entitled to receive pensions, by June 30.

Until the law is changed, "the state constitution says we cannot diminish anything that's been accrued," Shima-bukuro said. "Once the governor signs it, we can count to the federal ceiling."

Lingle's spokesman Russell Pang said the governor, who is traveling, was not immediately available to comment on the measure.

If it becomes law, UH coach Jones, who makes more than $800,000 a year, could see a decline in pension benefits of about the same amount or more than Dobelle's.

Other top public employees affected include Edwin Cadman, UH medical school dean, who makes almost $368,000 yearly, and Aviam Soifer, UH law school dean, who earns nearly $309,000 a year. Soifer would not comment. Cadman couldn't be reached.

J.R.W. "Wick" Sloane, the chief financial officer of UH who makes more than $227,000 a year, won't collect a pension because his three-year contract was not renewed by the Board of Regents. But Sloane said he thinks the pension change should not be a problem.

"The pay is fair," he said. "There are thousands of other people who need (the benefits) more."

Reach Deborah Adamson at dadamson@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8088.