Lawmakers up own pensions, deny workers' raises, buses

COLUMBIA --- South Carolina lawmakers on Tuesday voted themselves a pension increase as other legislators scrapped plans to raise state worker pay and buy new school buses because of slumping tax collections.

The moves came separately: Members of the House approved the pension increase as part of a cost-of-living boost for all state retirees. Meanwhile, the Senate's budget-writing committee scrambled to cover a $90 million shortfall in this year's budget and a $40 million gap in its spending plan for next year that were revealed earlier this week because of weaker projected revenues.

Though the invested money that pays for pensions and the cash used to pay the state's roughly $7 billion annual budget come from different places, Gov. Mark Sanford was quick to link the seemingly contradictory moves. In a statement, his office called them an "almost unbelievable show of disdain for the taxpayers of South Carolina."

"Some really tough choices are going to have to be made in order to shore up our budget," said Mr. Sanford, who called on lawmakers to revisit the pension issue, which passed the Senate last year.

South Carolina legislators' pensions vest after eight years and offer benefits that depend on their length of service -- base retirement pay is $90 per month per year in office.