The public pension plans in New Mexico, and in many other states, have been hit hard by the financial events in the world markets in 2001 and 2008-2009. However, the drastic changes proposed in the article are not the only effective way to ensure the long-term sustainability of these retirement plans that so many of New Mexico's educational employees rely on. It's important to point out that ERB members have always paid a very high proportion of the retirement contributions. And this year, most ERB members are paying a higher rate of contribution to the plan than their employers