HARRISBURG — A bill to cut Pennsylvania pension benefits for newly hired state workers and school employees passed the state House by a comfortable margin Monday, buying time for the cash-strapped state and school districts that had been facing huge increases to fund the plans.

The House voted 165-31 to make a host of changes to the state’s two public-sector pension plans, including increasing from five to 10 years the time it takes for employees to become vested and pushing back to 65 the retirement age.

“Our school districts and homeowners need stable and predictable pension costs,” said Rep. Tim Seip, D-Schuylkill. “This is real pension reform, and far, far too important to put off until the next legislative session.”

The Senate previously approved the measure, and Gov. Ed Rendell’s office said Monday he would probably sign the bill after the customary review, despite his reservations about its establishment of an independent legislative fiscal office.

Inclusion of that office by the Senate nearly doomed the bill. Several House members argued that it violated the state constitution’s requirement that bills address a single subject only.

The legislation makes a number of actuarial changes that would save the state’s general fund about $6 billion through 2017-18. The unfunded accrued liability would be spread over 24 years for the teachers’ pension system, and over 30 years for the state workers’ system.

For the State Employees’ Retirement System, which mostly benefits state government workers, the bill lowers the “multiplier” that is used to figure what they will collect in pension benefits, for new hires only, from 2.5 percent to 2 percent. Someone with 20 years of service and a multiplier of 2 percent, for example, will collect 40 percent of their final average salary as an annual pension.

New hires can remain at 2.5 percent, but more money would come out of their paychecks to fund it.

If Rendell signs it, the changes for the state government pension system will take effect Jan. 1, but also will include newly elected state lawmakers, who begin work Dec. 1.

State police pensions would not be fully affected by the changes because an arbitration award gives them special pension benefits.

In the Public School Employees’ Retirement System, benefits will be cut for some new hires, including an increase in how much money is taken out of their paychecks if they choose a higher multiplier. Those changes would affect school employees hired after June 30.

The conservative Commonwealth Foundation attacked the bill, calling it a bailout for public employee unions, and some House Republicans argued against the legislation, saying a better approach would be possible next year, when their party reclaims the House majority and the governorship.

“The public is not willing to continue paying the tab, to continue writing the check, to pay for benefits at a level they’re not seeing in their own lives,” said Rep. Gordon Denlinger, R-Lancaster.

Public employee unions and the Pennsylvania State Education Association applauded the vote.

PSEA president Jim Testerman said the bill “resolves the pension crisis in a responsible manner and over time will save the taxpayers billions of dollars. It also keeps the promise of a secure retirement for current and future workers.”

The House took a flurry of other votes Monday on legislation that otherwise would have died when the current legislative session ends Nov. 30.

The House voted 161-35 to expand a person’s self-defense rights by removing the duty to retreat before using deadly force against an attacker, except under certain circumstances.