file photo by Boyd Loving
MAY 19, 2015, 12:48 PM LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, MAY 19, 2015, 10:33 PM
BY SALVADOR RIZZO
STATE HOUSE BUREAU |
THE RECORD
In a rare moment of agreement, analysts for Governor Christie and the Legislature’s independent budget office said Tuesday that no matter how the state Supreme Court rules in a dispute over funding New Jersey’s pension system, there is no more money left this year to restore more than $1 billion that Christie cut from a payment to the retirement plans.
Using his veto powers at the start of the fiscal year, Christie reduced a $2.25 billion payment to $681 million, defying pension-reform laws he signed in his first term requiring the higher payment for the strapped retirement system. Public-worker unions promptly sued, arguing that a 2011 law Christie signed gave them a constitutionally protected right to the full amount.
As the case made its way through the courts, the state kept making payments to schools, hospitals, universities and hundreds of other programs. Now with only weeks left before the end of the fiscal year, almost all of the $33.1 billion in the state budget has been paid out, said David Rosen, the budget chief at the independent Office of Legislative Services.
“If the Supreme Court were to direct the state to make the full pension payment before June 30, I’m not sure that that’s fiscally or physically possible,” Rosen testified before the state Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, citing “the constraints that we have on how we could come up with that money.”
And just what are those higher spending priorities? Let me guess.
I see NY State plans to lower their 7.5% assumed rate of return to reflect less rosy projections going forward after a years long stock rally; the change could come as soon as September. Given NJ assumes 7.95%, how much will our pension liability rise if we cut our assumed rate of return as well, which we should do given AAA munis only yield 3.4% and 30 year govt treasuries only yield 2.46% ?
#51, if it was New Jersey voters who approved a constitutional amendment that would dedicate money from a business tax toward open space preservation, why are you against it? You don’t approve of democratically held votes, or you have some other use for the funds?
#54 so tell us why you feel that it is ok for the Governors of NJ to violate the law by NOT properly funding the State’s pension system. In case you hadent noticed public sector pension benefits have legal and constitutional protections Do you NOT believe in contracts, the state constitution and the rule of law?
–
If NJ Voters believe the state should fully fund the pensions, why are you against it?
–
https://publicmind.fdu.edu/2014/pensions/
–
A majority of Garden State voters believe the public employee pension system is in trouble, but few support reducing payouts in order to shore up the system’s financial solvency. The most recent statewide poll of registered voters from Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind finds that almost two thirds (61%) believe the state’s pension system is, at the very least, experiencing serious problems, with a quarter (23%) who believe it’s already in a state of crisis. Only 27 percent believe reduced payouts are the answer, as compared with almost two-thirds (63%) who believe the state needs to honor the promises it made to its workers.
–
Sounds to me like you don’t believe in our court system, State Constituon, or our democratic process, so tell me Mr. “I think I am King” why do you live in a country that you don’t believe in?
so New Jersey voters didn’t approve a constitutional amendment that would dedicate money from a business tax toward open space preservation? you didn’t answer the question.
Nice try. The original point was #51 about a constitutional amendment approved by voters, but now you’re changing the story to an FDU poll. I guess you didn’t read the fine print on who was polled in that FDU survey…. 65% white, 47% Dem, 25% union and 29% of those polled 60+ years old with 45% between 35-59 which would include retired teachers, municipal employees, police & fire… you still refuse to answer where the money will come from to honor the unsustainable over-promises? Are you saying the state should ignore voter amendments to fund your pension?
Oh and so 10:12 am what your saying is retired teachers, municipal employees, police & fire shouldn’t have a vote?
–
Who are you to decide that? What makes your opinion more valid than a study conducted by Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind?
–
You still refuse to admit that NJ is wasting money supporting stem cell research, funding college sports, propping up Atlantic City and wasting 6 billion dollars on open space. Why is that ok but funding pensions properly isn’t explain that to me……
Because that’s what voters want. Where would you rather see that money spent, let me guess
Maybe NJ should have a referendum on pensions. The question could be, “are you willing to pay 10% more state tax, 12% more consumption tax, and 25c/lgallon of gas more to keep paying for $57,000 pensions and $20,000 healthcare plans for retired 52 year olds?
Yes we should hold a referendum on pension funding. I am confident NJ voters would support making the Governor and legislature do what they are legally, morally, ethically and contractually required to do, properly fund the public sector pensions.
another words you willing to pay more taxes ?
If necessary sure I would pay more taxes. At the same time lets stop lining the pockets of the greedy pension fund managers. $3.8 billion paid to them for less than market benchmark standard returns has been a total waste of taxpayers money
#61, I thought NJ voters elected Christie to try and clean up the pension mess by any means necessary, including cutting benefits like COLAs and getting public workers to contribute more towards their own lifetime pensions and Cadillac healthcare plans? The fact he can’t fix the mess just shows how far gone NJ is down the road to insolvency, and you’re still whining about your $100K annual pension that you’ve had since your 50s? I am confident NJ voters want Christie to stand up to union greed.
Yep, figured as much. Without saying it, #61 just agreed that his solution is higher taxes on all of us via state taxes, consumption taxes and gasoline taxes. He didn’t even mention the $300 annual increase in our commuter costs to NYC, and also conveniently forgot about the fact that Village absorbed all of his $300 annual increase in health insurance premiums for his $20,000 health plan. He’s never once missed a pension check, and yet he wants the rest of us to bend over backwards to bail all of the vote buying under Whitman, McGreevey and Corzine, i.e. Xanadu/American Dream Meadowlands (ADM) which is nothing more than a pure union boondoggle
The 800 pound gorilla is NJ getting fleeced by the federal govt to prop up red states- if NJ got back about 70-75 cents for every buck to DC the pensions would be funded and the budget would have a surplus- if you’re going to blame unions and pensioners, blame our reps that allow this ripoff to happen as well, from both sides of the aisle- https://wallethub.com/edu/states-most-least-dependent-on-the-federal-government/2700/
Raising taxes is a failed solution. The more taxes we pay, the deeper our unfunded health and pension holes have become, $170bn as of the latest count. But the unions want to keep raising taxes, now on consumption and gasoline to pay for failed policy like the Transportation Fund. There’s never any question of why our tax dollars are feeding a black hole, it’s just “let’s feed ever more taxpayer money into the black hole.” It’s a broken solution which no amount of money can fix.
Yup get ready to reach deeper into your deep pockets because like it or not more taxes are on the way. It’s the law that Christie wanted in 2011 and he got it. So now by his own law he made it illegal not to properly fund the pensions. Fucked you are by your own guy. You just have toove the irony.
Everyone has forgotten how the Corzine administration took $180 million pension funds and “invested” it with an already failing Lehman Bros., losing every cent. but lets spin that so it’s the public workers fault….
Take a pension program that was OVER FUNDED in the 1990s and turn it into this mess? Just stop funding it for 18+ years and then blame the workers for the mess. Both the Democrats and Republicans have responsibility for this, not the workers.
So taxpayers bail everyone out? Don’t think so. Christie made the largest contributions into NJ’s pension fund in HISTORY and it’s still not enough. Further concessions will need to be part of any tax increases or they just aren’t palatable. New employees will have to be moved to 401k style, defined contribution plans that they control to stop all of the political meddling in their pension funds used to buy union votes. Pension ” enhancements” like lower contribution rates and special early retirements under Whitman, Corzine and McGreevey have stuffed taxpayers with a big chunk of the increased liability as well, it’s not just the underfunding issue. Pensionable income for current employees should be capped at $110,000 X 50% like California, max pension would be $55,000 which is in-like with PFRS avg today of $57K. Current employees should contribute 15% of their wages to their own pensions, and shift to healthcare exchanges before we get hit with a 40% excise tax on 90% of current public worker health plans, ie the state is subsidizing excessive coverage for employees and retirees and this needs to stop. The Statd and municipal govts should also stop wasting taxpayer money on giveaways and white elephants like the American Dream Mall/Xanadu which is nothing more than a make work boondoggle for union labor. Lastly, sick leave should be just that; leave for when you’re sick. It’s not a freebie, so use it with a doctor’s note or lose it. These accumulated leave retirement payouts are ridiculous, running $80k on average in Ridgewood for only nine retirees between 2015-2017, mostly Police & Fire who get to retire on a full pension after only 25 years. If these workers want to retire at an average age of 52, then fine, but don’t let them collect their pension until age 62.
Forgot about all of the pension “enhancements” the workers been given since Whitman, right #70
tl put it in perspective, the pension funds pay out over $700mn per month in pension checks to retired workers. The baby boomers are retiring as we speak, so would Mr “Let’s raise taxes forever” care to tell me how long it will take before we send out over $1 BN a month in pension checks ?