New Jersey Cops Fighting for Their Pensions
Former NJ Governor Chris Christie was negatively viewed by almost all first responders in the state. Now that he’s out of office, they are hoping to have more input and save their embattled pension funds.
by Brianna Dunn
With former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie out of the way, police and firefighter unions in New Jersey are fighting to get back control of their pensions.
The bill that would hand control back over to them, called S5, was vetoed by the former governor last year.
According to NJ.com, The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee approved the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System and its $27 billion in assets to be placed under the control of a 12-member board of trustees. The board will have power over the fund’s investment strategy, benefits and contribution levels.
It’s a responsibility they don’t take lightly, knowing they have more than 85,000 active and retired workers relying on the fund.
There is currently a freeze on cost-of-living adjustments for retirees, put in place by Christie and the State Legislature. As of now, they can’t be restored until a fund has assets to cover at least 80 percent of its liabilities and can prove the funded ratio won’t drop below 80 percent by spending any more.
The New Jersey League of Municipalities and New Jersey Association of Counties is saying that the board is weighted too heavily in favor of the cops and firefighters.
“Taxpayers, through counties and municipalities, will … assume the risk of loss if the fund underperforms,” said John Donnadio, executive director of the counties association.
He believes for S5 to be effective, there needs to be more protections put in place. He suggested changes that would have employees share the burden for losses and bar any boost in benefits until the fund is 80 percent funded.
State Senate President Stephen Sweeney, sponsored the bill. He said the police and firefighters would be entrusted as fiduciaries of the pension fund.
“The responsibilities that come with that are enormous,” he said. “I assume police and fire know that and they’re still willing to take it on.”
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