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Pension Reform : Scamming the system?
Surrounded by angry union protesters in June, Orange Mayor Eldridge T. Hawkins Jr. boldly stepped to the table and testified, twice, at legislative hearings about why it was important to pass pension and benefits reforms.
“My pension is at stake in this, because I had a law enforcement background,” Hawkins told the Assembly Budget Committee. “It is the comprehensive reform we need, and if we don’t have legislation like this pass, layoffs will continue to occur.”
Hawkins, however, may never need to worry about his pension. His application for a full disability could be passed Monday — and Hawkins will receive two-thirds of his $77,818 police salary in tax-free payments for life because of a rear-end car accident, which resulted in little damage to the police cruiser.
Some officials say that a wave of disability pensions for police and firemen has swelled since the state Supreme Court loosened standards for the cases in 2007 and 2008 decisions. If nothing is done to stem the tide, they could destabilize the pensions for police and firemen despite recent reforms, they say.
“Everyone is getting out of a car, or walking down a hall in a correctional facility, they slip, and they’re collecting for the rest of their life,” said John Sierchio, a Bloomfield police officer who heads the state board overseeing pension benefits for police and fire departments. (Method, Gannett)