Office of Information Practices

Opinion Letter No. 90-01
January 8, 1990
Public Employees’ Retirement Allowances

[OIP Op. Ltr. No. 05-03 partially overrules this opinion to the extent that it states or implies that the UIPA’s privacy exception in section 92F-13(1), HRS, either prohibits public disclosure or mandates confidentiality.]

Detailed information relating to a public employee’s retirement allowance must not be disclosed by the Employees Retirement System to avoid a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. While under the UIPA the “compensation” paid to public employees is specifically designated as public, this provision was intended to make the salaries of public employees public. Since the UIPA provides that individuals have a significant privacy interest in their finances and income, and since there is little public interest in the disclosure of this information, pension benefits paid to specific former government employees must remain confidential.

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