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This is a portion of a mailer that the Citizens Alliance of Pennsylvania paid for to help Sen. Wayne Langerholc get elected only to find out that he is reneging on the pledge not to take a pension.

A newly seated state senator defends his decision to sign up for a state pension after making a campaign promise to not accept this benefit.

Sen. Wayne Langerholc, R-Cambria County, issued a statement, saying he signed up for the pension because he was told if he didn't he would be "forever barred" from participating in a 401(k)-style plan like the one the Legislature proposed offered during the last legislative session.

"After reflection on the information provided, I elected to be in the SERS system to preserve my ability to opt into a 401(k) style plan," Langerholc said.

WHTM-TV first reported Langerholc's decision to take a state pension on Wednesday. His decision reneged on a commitment memorialized on a campaign mailer paid for by Citizens Alliance of Pennsylvania to shun this benefit.

CAP, as the organization is known, favors limited government and recruits and helps elect candidates for the Legislature who commit to self-imposed term limits and not accepting a pension.

The State Employees' Retirement System confirmed on Thursday that Langerholc is now a member of the defined contribution plan that state lawmakers are trying to close down to new members and create a new type of pension plan for future state and school employees that is more affordable to taxpayers.

Leo Knepper, CEO of Citizens Alliance of Pennsylvania, which spent roughly $15,000 on the mailer, rejects Langerholc's reasoning as "utter nonsense."

He pointed out lawmakers have a 401(k) option available to them currently but it comes with no matching contribution. Langerholc could have chosen that.

What's more, Knepper said the pension reform plan that a House-Senate conference committee considered last fall would have prohibited anyone who is in the pension system from moving into the new pension plan. So unless a new pension reform plan changes that provision, Langerholc may have essentially locked himself into the state pension plan that he had committed not to join.

So the explanation Langerholc offered, Knepper said, is "disingenuous and dishonest."

The full statement from Langerholc follows:

After my election, I was informed that if I did not elect to go into the retirement system, I would be forever barred from participating in a 401(k) style plan that has been discussed and voted on by the Senate and the House. After reflection on the information provided, I elected to be in the SERS system to preserve my ability to opt into a 401(k) style plan.



The retirement form language which is based on state and federal law is clear. "If I do not elect to become a member of SERS within 30 days of the effective date of my current employment, or if I decline to become a member of SERS, I will not have another opportunity to elect to become a member of SERS....during my current employment."



I was not aware months ago that the decision I would be required to make at the start of my term would affect my ability to enter a 401(k) style plan at any point in the future. As I said during the campaign, I do not want to collect a defined benefit pension. A 401(k) option, however, would be similar to what a large majority of my constituents currently have.



I stand ready to support meaningful pension reform. In fact, I have already committed to co-sponsoring legislation that will convert legislators' defined benefit plan to a 401(k).



In addition to fighting for pension reform, I am not accepting a taxpayer-paid vehicle or per diems, and I will never vote to increase my pay. I have also already signed on as a co-sponsor of legislation that requires receipts before any reimbursement from state accounts are made.



I look forward to voting for long-overdue pension reform in the near future that will protect the taxpayers of the Commonwealth.

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