By Claude Brodesser-Akner | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on February 28, 2017 at 9:45 AM, updated February 28, 2017 at 10:46 AM
TRENTON — Furious after watching pension investment fees triple over the last three years even as their funds lost value, police and firefighter union leaders are seeking to wrest control of their underfunded pensions from the state.
As Gov. Chris Christie is set to deliver his final budget address, state Senate President Sweeney (D-Gloucester) on Monday introduced a bill (S3040) that would transfer management of the Police and Firefighters Retirement System to a newly expanded board of trustees.
“They’ve been screwing up pensions for decades now,” Ed Donnelly, president of the New Jersey State Firefighters’ Mutual Benevolent Association told NJ Advance Media, referring to the $11 billion that the state has yet to pay into his retirement system.
Great idea. Substitute union politicians for government politicians, then continue to under-perform index funds.
It’s the ultimate slow motion train wreck.
Well, the union-controlled asset stripping of the pension funds is well underway, $8bn+ a year in pension checks to a bunch of 50 somethings who contributed for less years than they’ll actually draw a pension. It’s a PONZI scheme. Now the majority of state pension funds will be insolvent before 2027 so those pension checks will stop. What are you going to do, raise taxes 20% on the highest taxed Americans ? That’s what the pensioners want. Why is there no discussion about a combination of tax increases PLUS diminished pension benefits? Or shifting new hires to defined contribution (401K style) plans that would be insulated from union and political meddling? We also have to start asking some serious questions about how well we compensate our public safety officials, and why we have so many of them? According to FBI data, the average police officer in New Jersey makes about 50% MORE than officers elsewhere in America. And when you add benefits to base pay and step pay, a compensation package can be well over $200,000 a year. Is this taxpayer money well spent? Furthermore, NJ has 70% more police officers per capita than the rest of the country, with too many of them in our suburbs manning speed traps. So we’re actually paying people to drive up our auto insurance premiums. In a Village of 26,000 people like Ridgewood (which will be losing Valley), do we really need 45 police officers?