Next November, New Jerseyans will be asked to vote on a constitutional amendment to require the state government to make regular quarterly pension payments, which would put the state’s pension system — and the state of New Jersey itself — on the road to fiscal solvency within six years.
Mark J. Magyar. Star-Ledger Read more
Oh this should be good……..the Sky Is Falling posters constantly complaining about pensions and benefits will be here soon ………………….wait for it…………………….wait for it.
Taken directly from this article!
Over a 14-year span, Republican governors underfunded the pension system by $2.6 billion, then Democratic governors did so by $10.2 billion. The Christie administration promised to fix the problem, but instead made it worse by underfunding the pension system by $17.5 billion in its first six years — and a projected $23.7 billion by the time the governor’s term ends in January 2018.
“The math is simple.”
“Pension systems work when they’re funded: New Jersey’s pension systems for police, firefighters, county and municipal employees are solvent because county and municipal governments have made their pension payments, and the pension systems have been earning investment income on that money.”
“New Jersey’s pension system for teachers and state government workers has a $40 billion unfunded liability that is growing exponentially and is in danger of collapse because governors and legislatures treated the pension system like a credit card that would never come due.”
The specter of massive income or sales tax hikes is the “Big Lie” of pension reform. This fear factor is the central tenet of a pension commission dominated by Wall Street finance experts, but lacking in hands-on New Jersey state budget experience. The commission was forced to recommend that virtually the entire cost of the $40 billion shortfall caused by two decades of state underfunding come out of massive cuts in health benefits for all public employees — including police, firefighters and county and municipal workers whose pensions are solvent. Additionally, it said local governments would be required to hand over the savings to the state to go into the state pension systems.
What’s the reason you need a constitutional amendment here to pay for the past? Because the pension hogs already draw pension checks worth over $8 billion a year from the state pension fund, and the only way to prop up the monster they’ve created is to divert more funds from the state budget that will come at the expense of all other federally and state mandated spending…. $8bn is 25% of the current state budget
The only way this happens is if current retiree pension benefits are diminished by 25%, and health plans get downgraded from platinum to bronze, with higher contribution rates into 401-k style “defined contribution” plans for all future retirees,
and higher share of health benefit premiums shared by employees and retirees alike. The excessive benefits promised are unsustainable ar their current +$8bn a year rate on pension checks and PAYGO on platinum health benefits.
No one in the private sector gets “Platinum” health benefits, so why are we subsidizing these for public sector workers and special retirees before they turn 65?
Wonder how many state residents are smart enough to understand what this constitutional mandate, proposed by iron workers union thug Sweeney, really means? It’s nothing more than a money grab by the unions who control the state senate via Sweeney, Sarlo and Prieto. It will result in 25% higher NJ state taxes, a 12% state sales tax, and that’s only just to maintain the status quo for current retirees according to the February 2015 Pension Commission study… All other state spending will have to be reduced just to pay for excessive pension promises
Yup, just as I predicted there he is……Hey 3:08 pm. No one in the public sector gets “annual six figure bonuses”, that equal or exceed what public employees earn in an entire year and of course public employees aren’t entitled to the secret special retirement deals like you are……
Exactly who will get these pensions? State workers? Who pays for RPS teacher and village employee pensions? Does the village make pmts to the teacher union directly? Does the money come out of our state or local taxes?
If we are being taxed for pensions why is the money going elsewhere?
Is Christie still our governor because he hasn’t been around in a while.
Ummmm in case you hadn’t noticed when you didn’t read the article 3:01, 3:06, 3:08 and 3;31, the Ridgewood Police, Fire and Municipal pensions are fully funded. Its the Teachers and State employees pension fund that has been underfunded……
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Sixth paragraph from the article……Pension systems work when they’re funded: New Jersey’s pension systems for police, firefighters, county and municipal employees are solvent because county and municipal governments have made their pension payments, and the pension systems have been earning investment income on that money.
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Seventh paragraph from the article……New Jersey’s pension system for teachers and state government workers has a $40 billion unfunded liability that is growing exponentially and is in danger of collapse because governors and legislatures treated the pension system like a credit card that would never come due.
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Fourth paragraph from the article……..The dirty little secret Gov. Chris Christie is not telling you is that the state ultimately will have to pay the bill – whether the money comes out of pension funds or directly out of the state budget – and that the cost goes up exponentially every year we fail to act.
This story and the posts are going to make CK night. He is foaming at the mouth. His keyboard is going to on fire along with the member of the the Rdgewood Financial Advisory board. The 3 Amigos handpicked mouth pieces.
You got that right 7:38 pm! I have the popcorn and large adult beverages ready for tonight’s entertainment from CK!
What the hell happened 7:38 and 8:20. Someone should check on him. I can’t believe he’s not posting.
No kids in the schools, I am getting the hell out of NJ before it implodes.
Is Christie still governor? is he still getting a paycheck?
3:01 nailed it
Reality bites.
State pensioners need to be told the truth so that they can plan for their futures.
Benefits need to be cut.
No collecting benefits till age 62
No double dipping
Lolks like the morons against government pensions want to ignore the facts so they save a few dimes in the taxes they pay. Just like a democrat limousine liberal, mak everyone else pay but me.
Are you suggesting I’m not paying my taxes 6:35? Where’s the property tax relief that’s been promised? Funny, property taxes in Ridgewood rise annually to pay for the annual growth in pension & health benefits. Are you not getting your monthly public pension checks and free healthcare? Because that’s everyone else paying so you can get your $100K annual pension and free Platinum health benefit.
Ummm 10:05 am, Who promised you tax relief, Christie? And you believed Him! Your a bigger fool than I thought. The Trenton political machine doesn’t give a crap about you, they are happy to keep taking your money and spending it on every little pet project or lobbyist or campaign contributor. Christie himself gave a billion $$$$ over the last 5 years to wall street pension firms running the pensions that supported his campaigns. And your here pissing and moaning about your property tax, please.