Public Employee Pension and Benefits Reform Act of 2008
Public Employee Pension and Benefits Reform Act of 2008 is a New Jersey law changing eligibility for the state's public employee retirement system to prevent its projected collapse.
Other People Are Reading
-
Law's History
-
Senate Bill 1962 was sponsored by several state senators including Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex) and Stephen Sweeney (D-Salem, Cumberland and Gloucester).
It passed the senate on a 31-8 vote and the Assembly on a 52-13 vote.
Governor Jon Corzine signed it September 29, 2008 and it became effective November 1, 2008.
Age and Salary Requirements Changed
-
The new law increases the minimum retirement age for new public employees from 60 to 62.
It also requires earning at least $7,500 a year to get credit in the Public Employees Retirement System or the Teachers Pension and Annuity Fund, up from $1,500 a year and $500 a year (indexed annually to inflation), respectively.
Employees working less than 35 hours a week now are ineligible for membership in either union.
-
Need for the Law
-
The law was passed to try to prevent the public employee benefit system's collapse. The older retirement age is estimated to save the state $600,000 annually beginning in 2011.
A May, 2009, report in "Fortune" magazine stated New Jersey's public retirement system was underfunded by $34 billion in June, 2008, and had lost, at that time, $26 billion of its $82 billion market value.
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit enjoying retirement image by msw from Fotolia.com
