Pascagoula, Miss.-based Singing River Health System's board of trustees has rescinded a November 2014 vote to terminate the system's underfunded pension fund, and is working to explore another option for the retirement program, the system announced.
Board President Mike Heidelberg said the system will continue working on the issue during the 90-day extension of its agreement with Jackson County, which owns Singing River.
The board hopes to have a "new pension plan option" ready to present in the next 30-60 days. In the meantime, retirees will still get monthly pensions, and there will not be employee payroll deductions for the pension, attorney Jim Reeves, who represents plan members in a federal lawsuit filed against Singing River and others, told the Sun Herald.
The system's failed pension plan has been the center of controversy for several months and has even led to Singing River becoming the subject of a criminal investigation.
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