Pensions slashed, retirement age hiked
Union president says the city is hoarding money.
The North Miami Beach City Council imposed new contract terms on the city’s police union last week after management and labor hit an impasse in negotiations. Read about it in the Miami Herald.
Here’s just some of the bad news:
• Pension benefits for officers would decrease from 3 percent to 2 percent of working salary per year of service. Accumulated vested benefits would not be lost, however. So an officer with 10 years with the city today, who retires 10 years from now, would get 30 percent for the first 10 years plus 20 percent for the second 10 years, for a total retirement benefit equal to 50 percent of working pay.
• The new minimum retirement age for new officers would change from age 52 or 20 years of service to age 62 with 10 years of service or age 55 with 25 years of service.
• New employees will have to start contributing to health insurance premiums. Employees who take the HMO option will pay $25.12 per week for the employee only; $86.96 for a couple and $112.76 for a family plan.
• Wages will be frozen for one year with a “re-opener ” in the second and third year.
The union’s president, Sgt. Richard Rand, said the deal would make it harder for North Miami Beach to recruit good officers.
“Thank God, the people we have here are professional enough to provide the very best service, but that soon is going to come to an end,” said Rand. “ The city has money. They city is hoarding money but not feeding their employees.”