Ohio bill would end ‘pension pickups’ for public employees

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- An obscure but lucrative perk in some public-sector contracts — governments paying part of an employee’s pension contribution — is up for debate at the Ohio Statehouse.

House Bill 473 , which has its first hearing on Wednesday, would ban public employers from covering any portion of their workers’ pension contributions in future contracts.

It’s a practice sometimes used to sweeten deals for administrators and other top hires, where a school district or local government pays not only the employer share of a pension but part or all of the employee share as well.

Rep. Dave Thomas, an Ashtabula County Republican, said the idea might sound generous but ends up being “flawed on a number of fronts.”

He argued it lacks transparency for taxpayers, fuels bidding wars between