Senate Vice President Kenneth L. Gittens thanked the Government Employees Retirement System Board of Trustees and the System Administrator on Wednesday for resuming personal loans for retirees.
GERS announced that there would be a total of $15 million available for retiree personal loans, with $7.5 million allocated per district and that eligible retirees could apply for loans up to $7,500. Loans to active government employees were resumed in 2024.
“This was a long time coming and something I’ve personally advocated for since 2016, not long after GERS originally suspended its loan programs,” Senator Gittens said. “We know that these loans are a sound investment for the retirement system and a great benefit for our people. I was disappointed that retirees were not originally included when the loan program was reinstated and I continued to push for their eligibility.”
GERS stopped issuing loans in 2015 based on what the system described as its “looming insolvency”. Act 7880, sponsored by Senator Gittens, required GERS to resume the suspended loan program, which GERS had repeatedly testified is profitable.
GERS failed to comply with law and Senator Gittens resumed his advocacy for the loan program reinstatement once the system had the infusion of funds it needed to remain solvent, even going as far as to threaten legal action against GERS.
“Thankfully, it did not come to that and now GERS has also kept its promise to resume retiree loans in 2025,” Senator Gittens concluded.
