Police statewide forced to pay for NJ pension abuses, PBA president says

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Police statewide forced to pay for NJ pension abuses, PBA president says

Posted by: Jerry DeMarco Tags: COLA, Gov. Christie, New Jersey PBA, New Jersey police pensions, NJ PBA, police pensions Posted date: October 24, 2012 | 12 Comments

THE NJ PBA PRESIDENT WRITES: From the day Governor Christie took office and broke his promise to police and firefighters to never reduce benefits for active or retired officers, we have been engaged in a never-ending effort to stop the revisionist history of blaming employees for the unfunded liability in the pension system.

The facts are clear that the State and local governments went nearly a decade without making a full contribution into the State pension system, and nearly a full 3 years passed without a penny of employer contributions being made. Unfunded liabilities exploded and combined with a failing economy and pension investments, and what was once an over-funded pension system soon became, in the Governor’s words, “unsustainable.”

But sometimes the facts don’t get in the way of good politics.

NJ PBA Pres. Anthony F. Wieners

The Governor’s mastery of storytelling has rewritten the State’s pension history. So when the pension and health benefit reform law was signed in 2011 and the champagne corks were popped in some circles around the State that public employees were finally put in their place, we were told to be thankful that our pensions were finally “saved” and that the increased employee contributions would only help restore fiscal soundness to the pension fund.

Retired cops in their 70s, 80s and 90s who have small pensions and needed a COLA(cost of living adjustment) to survive were told by the Governor and others that these reforms were leading to a day around the corner when COLA would be given back to them. Active officers who saw their pension contributions jump to 10% and their health care contributions increase to as much as 35% of an uncontrollable premium were told their increased payments were needed to pay off the unfunded liability in THEIR pension system.

So after 3 years and 2 rounds of pension cuts, in which New Jersey law enforcement officers were making their increased payments, we learn the real truth.

As with everything else that has been said about pension reform in New Jersey, the demand that increased employee payments were required immediately to “save their pensions” were a half-ruth designed to mislead the public.

On October 16, the Governor announced that because of the pension changes local governments could skip making another $116 million in payments to the pension system. That was on top of $267 million in “savings” the law yielded after its passage.

So, in the end, the same local governments that skipped billions in pension payments that created the unfunded liability in the pension system that became “unsustainable” are now being rewarded with $383 million in cuts to their current pension obligations.

Now let’s be clear. I don’t oppose using lower pension liabilities to lessen the impact on property taxpayers. The Governor and his allies have done their best to make this an “us versus them” debate.

But I am a taxpayer, too. A solvent pension system is what I was promised, and I am ready to pay my fair share because it matters a lot more to me whether my pension is around for my retirement. But his rewritingof the math is a kickback to local government that reeks of hypocrisy and rewards the same credit card spending politicians who created the crisis in the first place.

This type of playing with the numbers to meet the politics is the same thing that created the perceived chaos two years ago. It puts our pension system back in the same spiral and pushes the costs off to our great-grandchildren and steals benefits from our senior citizens.

Look at it as you would your mortgage, as if you were behind on your payments and the interest was piling on. If you suddenly received a big cash payment, wouldn’t you want to pay down your debt on the house or would you use that money to buy something unrelated? I would like to think you would pay off your house debt to make sure you don’t lose it.

But that is the point the State is missing here. They have demanded that our senior citizen retirees lose their COLA on their pension, have increased our contribution rate to the highest in the State at 10% and have made structural changes to lower their costs. Wouldn’t it make more sense financially and out of fundamental honesty to then take those “savings” and use them to pay down more of the unfunded liability faster? Wasn’t the point of all these changes to lower “unsustainable” pension liability so that employee pensions would be secured for the future?

Any cop will tell you that all they are looking for when they are working is honesty.In this case, we are all wondering where the honesty is in using reduced pension costs to reward State and local government failure to fund their past obligations.

Where is the honesty for an older retired officer who was promised these savings would bring his COLA back quickly but then told by the State that COLA won’t be restored until 2026? Where is the honesty for a cop who is now paying $20,000 more for pension and health benefit costs only to see health care premiums continue to rise while politically connected health care brokers continue to get rich? Where is the honesty as additional pension contributions go to a government that nearly bankrupted his retirement rather than paying down pension debt, as we were told had to be done immediately?

When cops are made out to be the enemy of the people to advance a political agenda, we can see it for what it is. But when we are called on to bail out the government for abuses that caused record losses in our pension and then watch that money leave the pension system, we can’t help but feel disgust and disappointment we didn’t think possible after the last 3 years.

(By Anthony F. Weiners, president, New Jersey State PBA)

About the author

Jerry DeMarco

12 Comments for Police statewide forced to pay for NJ pension abuses, PBA president says

Paul

This is a very good article. It affects many men and women that have worked to protect the community and sate of New Jersey. One thing I wish it would have also addressed is how another REPUBLICAN governor Whitman wait Christine Whitman and Governor Chrstie…similar in names borrowed from the PBA pension system only to steal our money and not utilize it for what it was intended for…now here Christie gives us another slap in the face….I feel being screwed by 2 REPUBLICANS…the state of New Jersey needs to stick with an independant or demorcrat…the pain we feel might be alot less

Thomas R. Finley

As an active PBA member, I getting tired with the State PBA writting these articles on how the Governer screwed us, we all know that we were screwed. I want to see action, I want to see results, I want to see the State PBA take an very aggressive stand towards this governer and the scumy Democrats, actions speaks louder then words Mr. State President.

jeffrey heffernan

where were all these tough words when he the govenor was doing all of this,we heard nothing from our pba,mabye a tidbit here and there but no actual statments like the above,mabye if the pba had gotten involved when the citys or state had not put in there share years ago we would not be in this mess,but everyone was to busy being in bed with each other,now we got it stuck right in our kester,and now the president is comming out with a vengence,oh i forgot its election time again thats right….

paul

Mr Finely…I need to awaken you….your blaming the demorcrats but it was the republicans that screwed the PBA…better do some research

onthedole

It’s time for all local, county, state and federal agencies to get out of the pension business. The taxpayers can’t afford it. Why do government workers get a pension anyhow? Shouldn’t these workers pay into a private plan like the people in the real world do? These pensions were justified when public salaries were low but now, taxpayer funded employees earn higher salaries than those in the private sector. Time to get out of the pension business.
It’s also time for the Federal Government – FEMA – to get out of the insurance business. How long are the taxpayers going to pay the same people, year after year, for damages sustained because they bought homes on the banks of a river or on the beach? One and done.

Damion

I too am a Active PBA member and very frustrated and angry at the lack of aggressive stand the PBA have put forward so far! What are they waiting for? It’s gets worst n worst, isn’t it clear that neither the Governor nor the Local municipalities are going to contribute their share! Stop waiting, stop talking, take action already! I’m tired of all this tough talk n not action, words hadn’t got us anywhere n will not! Are they afraid of the Governor or in BED with him, one wonders!

Vince

you should be complaining to the politicians who over promised such sweet deals to your union. The pension, benefits and pay are simply to good to be true or rather affordable to the taxpayers. How can we afford to pay for people to retire after 20-25 years and pay them at a % of their salary for the rest of their lives with benifits and then need to pay someone else to replace them as well. The numbers just don’t add up.

Tom

In this day and age there’s no reason why police officers should be entering service with a pension as teir retirement plan. The salaries these days are more than enough to allow for investing in 401k’s and other investments like the private sector. Those who were guaranteed pensions when they accepted their jobs should be paid but I see nothing wrong with asking for them to contribute to medical and other benefits if that’s what’s needed.

Frank F

It’s extremely important to make the general public aware the we DO pay into our pension. We always have paid into the system and always will.

Dom

25 years ago as I was sworn into my police department I was told what I had to do to preform my job and what my compensation would include. I was not given a choice but to join this pension system. Police officers hired after a certain day cannot contribute or collect social security, not that it would help other then the part B medical coverage. I ask you this contact your creditors and tell them you can’t pay what you contractually owe them. Let us know how it goes. How about when the coke tube bargaining agreement expire negotiate reductions or eliminations of the system. Until then this argument will continue tirelessly.

Tom

The NJSPBA will never carry on like other labor unions. If you look at some of the acts taken on by the teachers unions, and the AFL-CIO, they have made a mess with some of their comments. One union head last year sat on a dais at a rally in Trenton and compared Christie to Hitler. Is that what the union members want? Do the people of this state want to hear about our benefits in the media by our leader yelling in the press everytime he doesn’t agree with legislation? Because take a look, it didn’t work for them, it actually painted a target on their back.
Stay the course, take them to court, and meet with them face to face. Yelling and screaming will only get you a headache and a sore throat

matt

I find it funny how many police articles claim that they have a shorter life span after retirement, yet, in this article the writer talks about retirees that are in their 70s, 80s, and 90s. All that aside, I have not seen one police officer talk about how much money is required to generate a 60% pension after 25 years. I have gone to several investment calculators and seen that it would take about 30% of my annual income for 25 years to generate a lifelong 60% payout. SO…. police put in 10% and the state puts in 20%. All I hear is about what you were promised and then how corrupt the state is. Yes the state is corrupt, but even if they made their contributions, you still cannot sustain that kind of 60% payout. I do believe that you deserve to retire at a good age, 55 max, but you need to take more control over the way your pension is run and settle for a lower state contribution that is guarnteed.