State Sen. Linda Greenstein, saying the tiered pension system is unfair to young state employees, introduced bills last week that would restore benefits for state pension programs.
Greenstein (D-Cranbury) said she wants to restore retirement benefits to previous levels after severe cuts and the implementation of a tiered pension system under the administration of former Gov. Chris Christie.
The bills (S-3997 and S-3998) would eliminate the state’s tiered public pension system to provide members of the Public Employee Retirement System (PERS) and the Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund (TPAF) the same benefits as members enrolled in the retirement systems before July 1, 2007.
State employees entering at Tier 5 today are subject to shrinking benefits and a higher minimum retirement age, resulting in a longer service requirement for far less benefits in return.
Greenstein said this system fails to set public employees up for a financially secure retirement, which discourages prospective public servants from entering already struggling fields and pushes current employees out in search of better job prospects.
“Young people starting their careers in public service today should be entitled to the same benefits to result in their secure retirement as individuals starting 20 years ago,” she said. “If we allow this five-tiered system to continue, the crisis of finding enough teachers to match the high number of vacancies we face will only worsen.
“If we want individuals to dedicate their lives to service in this State, we have to ensure that they are able to live financially stable lives. These pieces of legislation will help to do just that.”
