Rage grows over police retirement benefits
law enforcement officers have the toughest job out there and it does a lot of physical and psychological damage. Their pensions were guaranteed under a contract and we need to make good on that legal promise.
For Jacksonville police and firefighters, retirement benefits come early and often.
A Jacksonville police officer, for instance, can reap $3 million in pension payments for himself and his surviving spouse over a 40-year period — a payout that’s driven by annual 3 percent cost-of-living adjustments that keep pension checks growing.
Jacksonville police and firefighters are able to retire after 20 years on the job, meaning they can start drawing a pension equal to 60 percent of their final salary while still in their 40s. Automatic COLA increases then kick in, multiplying the original pension amount.
And the scariest part: In his first shot at reform, the Mayor and the Police and Fire Pension Fund reached agreement last year on sharp reductions in benefits for new hires. The proposal would have resulted in some of the lowest pension benefits for public safety workers in Florida. But City Council shot down the deal, saying it didn’t go far enough.
Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
