Topeka (ap) — Alan Conroy, executive director of the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System, said Thursday that under Gov. Sam Brownback’s pension proposals, the state would take longer to close a long-term gap in its funding for retirement benefits and spend more annually in future years to do it.

Conroy briefed the Senate Ways and Means Committee on the effects of Brownback’s proposals. The governor wants to continue contribution rates for the fiscal year that ended in June 2016 through June 2019, rather than having them rise annually in line with a 2012 law.

The 2012 law moved the state toward closing its long-term funding gap — now $8.5 billion — in 2033. Brownback’s plan is to extend the payoff for another 10 years.

Conroy said the short-term savings would be $596 million through June 2019, as the state faces budget shortfalls totaling $1.1 billion.

But, he added, “It’s like the mortgage on the house. If you don’t pay it now, you’re going to pay more later and over a longer period of time.”