Calling on New Jersey to be “more solvent and more honest,” Gov. Chris Christie today proposed a vast package of changes to pensions and benefits for many current public workers that will shift more costs to employees to help state and local governments cope with looming health and retirement bills.
Speaking at a town-hall style event in Gloucester Township, Christie proposed changes that would affect every public worker – including judges, teachers, police officers and firefighters – such as requiring bigger contributions into their pension and paying for health care based on premiums instead of a percent of salary.
“Pensions are all about numbers,” he said. “There’s no magic…We cannot sustain them.”
The proposals would provide more immediate relief for government budgets than an initial package of changes signed in March that mostly affected future hires.
Calling on New Jersey to be “more solvent and more honest,” Gov. Chris Christie today proposed a vast package of changes to pensions and benefits for many current public workers that will shift more costs to employees to help state and local governments cope with looming health and retirement bills.
Speaking at a town-hall style event in Gloucester Township, Christie proposed changes that would affect every public worker – including judges, teachers, police officers and firefighters – such as requiring bigger contributions into their pension and paying for health care based on premiums instead of a percent of salary.
“Pensions are all about numbers,” he said. “There’s no magic…We cannot sustain them.”
The proposals would provide more immediate relief for government budgets than an initial package of changes signed in March that mostly affected future hires. Read more in Star Ledger.
“Pensions are all about numbers,” he said. “There’s no magic…We cannot sustain them.”
Then maybe the state should start funding them. They borrowed against them and did not make their payments into them. All the while, the employees never took a “pension holiday” and deferred their payments.
With what should the state fund them, #1? Granted, they’ve misspent, but they’ve overspent as well! With unemployment high and the economy weak, how much more can the taxpayers cover?
#2, so because the government misspent and overspent, these public workers should be hung out to dry? That’s not right. If I have bills to pay but I have no money, I’m still responsible for those bills. I can’t go back and change the terms on my credit card just because I can’t afford what I’ve bought.
I don’t have the answer as to where the money should come from, but the workers are not responsible for the government’s mistakes. If Chris Christie is so smart he should find a way to fix it, not just blame the employees.
and just for the record, I work in the private sector.
State and local pensions must be brought in line with the real world. Retiring after 20 years of service is ridiculous. Longevity is age 78. A Policeman/firemen retiring at age 45 or so will collect millions until they pass away. If we don’t change the pension system, it will crash and the taxpayers won’t be able to bail it out.