Over the last several weeks, I have seen a lot of misinformation being spread across Iowa regarding the Iowa Public Employee Retirement System (IPERS).  

Unfortunately, Democrats are crisscrossing the state, holding meetings and panicking IPERS members that their pensions will be cut or eliminated altogether. This is absurd and the worst kind of politics.

I would like to set the record straight… there are no planned changes to IPERS or any other public pension system. We will continue to keep our promise to IPERS members. IPERS members are in no danger of losing their pensions.

IPERS is well-managed, financially stable and one of the best pension systems in the entire country. Changes are unnecessary.

In fact, the roaring economies that have resulted from Republican policies at both the state and national levels have only further strengthened IPERS and made it more secure for years to come.

We must always be vigilant to ensure IPERS remains sustainable for the long-term. That means listening to recommendations from the IPERS board and IPERS members, which we have been doing for decades.

IPERS members have dedicated years of their life to public service and paid into the system. These are our friends, family and neighbors. We value the service and the decades of work they put into our communities. We will continue to keep our promise to them.

The rumors and fear mongering being spread by Democrats are 100% false. Unfortunately, we’ve seen them use this playbook before. It’s the same strategy that they used before the last legislative session, yet IPERS remained unchanged.

Democrats should be honest with Iowans and stop with the election year scare tactics.

I hope that by putting the facts and this message out there, it puts to rest any rumors that changes are coming to IPERS, because it is simply untrue.