The Erlanger Baroness campus.
Erlanger Health System CEO Kevin SpiegelCURRENT PENSION PLANErlanger’s current pension plan includes the following highlights: The pension is designed as retirement income for life based on pay and years an employee has worked at the hospital. The hospital pays the entire pension benefit; employees do not contribute.Average monthly compensation is determined by averaging an employee’s pay over the last 10 consecutive years they have worked before they retired. If an employee has worked for fewer than 10 years, the plan will consider all their pay.Employees can retire at age 65 or as early as age 55 if the employee has at least 10 years of pension service.Source: Chattanooga-Hamilton County Hospital Authority Pension Retirement Plan & Trust Summary Plan Description, 2009
Seven months into his new role as Erlanger hospital’s CEO, Kevin Spiegel is fully aware he will rock the boat as he proposes a major shift in employees’ retirement plans.
But the hospital can’t stay afloat without bringing its current pension system to an end, he says.
“It is unpopular,” Spiegel acknowledged. “That’s why it hasn’t been fully dealt with. But we have to bring the hospital into line.”
Spiegel said next year he is looking to “freeze” the defined benefits pension plan Erlanger has offered for decades, and shift all employees into a “modernized” retirement savings plan similar to a 401(k).