National report shows West Virginia Retirees are Valuable Contributors to State Economy
A new national economic analysis shows that West Virginia retirees and beneficiaries contribute approximately $1 billion to the state’s total economic output, which supports jobs and stimulates and stabilizes West Virginia’s economy.
The National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) made the findings known in its report, “Pensionomics 2012: Measuring the Economic Impact of Definite Benefit Pension Expenditures.” The report states that expenditures made from public pension benefits in 2009:
- Had large multiplier effects. Each taxpayer dollar invested in West Virginia’s public pensions support $2.11 in total economic activity, while each dollar paid out in benefits supported $1.24 in economic activity;
- 8,143 jobs were supported by pension expenditures that paid $310.5 million in income and it represents one percent in the state labor force; and,
- These expenditures also supported $131.4 million in tax revenue at the local, state and federal levels.
“There are more than 54,000 people receiving retirement benefits from the State of West Virginia,” said Jeffrey Fleck, Executive Director of the Consolidated Public Retirement Board. “Our retirees are major contributors to the economies of the communities in which they live. They invest the money they receive back into the economy of those communities, which means financial stability for the retirees and economic growth for West Virginia.”
A detailed economic impact fact sheet, and the full economic impact study, is available at www.nirsonline.org.
NIRS is a non-profit, non-partisan organization established to contribute informed policymaking by fostering a better understanding of the value of retirement security to employees, employers and the economy as a whole.