S.C. Treasurer Curtis Loftis, a West Columbia resident, sent  an “Urgent Message” Thursday.  Loftis has decried the loss of billions of dollars in the State’s retirement system funds. Now members of the retirement system hierarchy want to remove Loftis from the Retirement System Investment Commission.

Below is the letter Loftis sent: 

You have probably heard that the mismanaged pension system wants the General Assembly to remove me as their watchdog. They want to remove your advocate. They want the power for themselves.

Their pension debt is $25 billion. It is as large as the state budget and the state doesn’t have enough money to pay it.

The pension debt is the massive pothole you can’t see. It is the debt that is larger than our state budget. It is the one issue that will cause taxes to rise and money for education, law enforcement, and essential services to dry up.

I work for you, not the establishment. I have spoken out about the unethical conduct surrounding the pension system and now the establishment wants to silence me. We need to stop it.

I’m asking you to take action, now.

Call your legislators and tell them to:

1. Keep the Treasurer on the Retirement System Investment Commission
2. Leave the Treasurer as the custodian of the state’s retirement funds
3. Make fixing the pension their number one priority.

Click here to find your Senator and click here to find your Representative. Call and let them know that you are watching and that you expect them to protect your interests.

The pension system doesn’t need a Band-Aid, or a temporary fix, it needs a permanent solution before the lawmakers go home in May.

I appreciate your help and all that you do for our great state.

Curtis M. Loftis, Jr.