HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to approve significant changes to the state's two large public-sector pension plans.

The 192-6 vote, taken without floor debate, sent to the Senate a bill that would delay and smooth out a looming jump in costs to taxpayers and reduce some benefits for newly hired state workers, teachers and other school employees.

For those employees, pensions would be 20 percent smaller than they are today, unless employees opt to have more money taken out of their paychecks. The practice that lets retirees withdraw upon retirement their own contributions, plus interest, would be eliminated. The standard retirement age would increase to 65, and it would take 10 years, not five, to vest.

For the Public School Employees' Retirement System, the lower benefits would apply to anyone hired after June 30, 2011. For the State Employees' Retirement System, the benefits would involve workers hired after Dec. 31, 2010.

The legislation is designed to address a sharp increase in the costs to taxpayers that is expected in 2012. The bill would limit the amount of a single year's increase in costs to governments and school districts, gradually increasing to a cap of 4.5 percent of payroll.

There would also be higher minimum payments. After 2014, the state and school boards would not be allowed to pay into the system less than the so-called "normal cost" to maintain benefits.