Florida House poised to end guaranteed pension plan

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Florida House is poised to pass a bill that would end traditional pensions for new state and county employees and teachers.

The bill (HB 7011) is set for final passage on Friday. It does away with guaranteed pensions for workers hired as of January 2014. The measure replaces pensions with individual investment accounts similar to 401(k) plans. It grandfathers current employees into the existing pension plan.

Democrats and labor unions oppose the bill while Republicans and business groups support the measure.

House Speaker Will Weatherford calls the bill fair and says money that would keep going into the old pension plan would be better spent on health care and education.