Lagerkvist: NJ $100K pensions double in 5 years

Retired New Jersey officials with $100,000-plus public pensions double in five years

The ranks of retired public officials who collect more than $100,000 a year from New Jersey pensions have more than doubled in the past five years, according to a NJ Spotlight analysis of state Treasury data.

When 2015 ended, 2,296 retirees were collecting six-figure pensions from state pension plans. It is a 131 percent increase above 2010, when the count was 992.

The top of the “$100K Club” is loaded with retired school executives. Former Essex County College president A.Z. Yamba leads the pack with $195,000 in annual retirement pay. Of the 30 pensioners who get $150,000 or more, 22 retired as educators.

But in sheer numbers, police and fire officials are predominate. Nearly half – or 1,131 pensioners – belong to the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System.

Of those PFRS retirees, 93 percent – or 1,050 – took advantage of a “special retirement” provision in state pension law. It allows law enforcement officers – but not other public employees – to collect full benefits after 25 years of service, regardless of age.

Ironically, the largest state pension plan – the Public Employee Retirement System – has comparatively few members in the $100K Club.

PERS has roughly 160,000 retirees, more than half of the state’s 300,000 pensioners. But just 172 – roughly one-tenth of one percent – get pensions of $100,000 a year or more. PERS is comprised of government workers who are not in the plans that cover educators, law enforcement and the judiciary.

Overall, less than one percent of state retirees belong to the $100K Club.

The complete story – and a database of state retirees collecting $100,000-plus annual pensions – are online at NJ Spotlight – http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/16/03/13/the-list-retired-nj-officials-with-100-000-plus-public-pensions-doubles-in-five-years/

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Mark Lagerkvist is a veteran investigative reporter who has worked for CNBC, News 12, Asbury Park Press, New Jersey Watchdog and other newspaper, television and online news outlets. His work has won more than 60 journalism awards, including honors from National Press Club, Scripps Howard Foundation, and Investigative Reporters & Editors (IRE). He can be reached at Mark@Lagerkvist.net.

NJ Watchdog: After 16 years as double-dipper, cop retires for 2nd pension

As New Jersey looks to fix a state pension system that's billions in debt, Patrick J. Higgins and other double-dippers find new ways to squeeze it for every dollar they can.

Higgins retired this month – for a second time. So the longtime law officer will begin collecting two state pensions, totaling nearly $100,000 a year, instead of one.

A New Jersey Watchdog examination of the underlying circumstances illustrates how public officials can legally exploit the state’s troubled retirement system, which is underfunded by $170 billion.

In 1999, Higgins retired as a state police detective. Since age 51, he has collected pension checks from the State Police Retirement System, which currently pays him $55,000 a year. SPRS rules allow members to retire after 25 years of service, regardless of age.

But Higgins never really retired. The month before that “retirement” took effect, he was hired by the Sussex County sheriff as an investigator. He quickly enrolled in another state pension plan, the Public Employees Retirement System. Higgins remained in PERS when he left the sheriff’s office in 2003 to join the county prosecutor’s staff in a similar position.

For 16 years, Higgins has collected a Sussex County salary – $101,696 in 2014 – plus his SPRS pension. Last year, his two streams of income from public coffers added up to $156,746.

At age 67, Higgins has decided to retire again – this time as a detective sergeant in the county prosecutor's office. But it’s not a garden-variety retirement based on his length of service.

Instead, it’s a disability retirement – a type of pension that will pay him more than he would have otherwise received. It was approved by the PERS board of trustees in closed session last month.

The full story is online at http://watchdog.org/207540/new-jersey-double-dipper/.

NJ WatchDog: $100,000-plus state pensions double in New Jersey

(graphic by Mark Lagerkvist)

By Mark Lagerkvist | New Jersey Watchdog

New Jersey’s $100K Club of retired public officials has more than doubled in the past four years, according to a New Jersey Watchdog analysis of state Treasury pension data.

As 2014 ended, 1,988 retirees were collecting state pensions in excess of $100,000 a year – the elite “1-percenters” among New Jersey’s 285,000 retirees. That number has grown quickly since 2010 when the count was 971.

New Jersey Watchdog found:

• The distinction of richest pension – $195,000 a year – is shared by former Jersey City school superintendent Charles Epps and retired Essex County College president A.Z. Yamba.
• Twenty-three of the 29 retirees who get more than $150,000 a year are retired school administrators.
• The City of Paterson is the capital of the $100K Club with 36 retirees, followed by Bergen County with 34, Hoboken with 28 and Atlantic City with 27.
• Local law enforcement and fire department retirees draw the most six-figure pensions. More than 47 percent (943) of the $100K Club members receive benefits from the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System.
• Of those PFRS pensioners, nearly 93 percent (873) took advantage of “special retirement,” a provision in state law that enables police and fire officials – but not other public employees – to collect full pensions at relatively young ages.

The story is now online at http://watchdog.org/200210/nj-100k-pensions-double/.

Click here for New Jersey Watchdog's list of $100K Club's 1,988 retirees ranked by pension pay.

Click here for an A-Z alphabetized list of those pensioners.

Click here for the list sorted by the retirees' governmental employers.

State Comptroller Names Towns That Enrolled Professionals In PERS

Middletown's on the list. No shock there. The municipal judge, prosecutor, and public defender are all feeding at the trough. - hat tip Linda Baum

From NJFOG:

October 26, 2014 by Tom Wyka

As mentioned in a previous news post, the Office of the State Comptroller revealed in a 2012 report that 332 municipal professionals were enrolled in the state pension system at that time in spite of a 2008 law intended to curb this kind of abuse. The state comptroller will not say who they are but recently released the names of the 228 municipalities that enrolled them. County is generally not listed, so where the report lists a town for which there is another New Jersey town with the same name, it is not always clear which town it is.

The New Jersey Pension Fraud and Abuse Unit is now sending out letters to at least some municipalities requiring them to remove their professionals from the pension rolls. That is welcome news for taxpayers, who have a right to know not only which municipalities have been ignoring the spirit of the law, but which professionals may be improperly receiving benefits.