Pen Ben Bills in Committee March 18
Call Assembly Appropriations Committee Today!
On Thursday, March 18, the four-bill Pensions and Benefits package (A-2459, A-2460, A-2461 & ACR-115) will be heard in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
When these bills were discussed in the Senate State Government Committee a few short weeks ago, the members of the committee did not ask a single question during the entire two and a half hours of testimony. The bills were quickly voted out of committee and sent to the Senate floor for a 36-0 vote of approval.
Questions about these bills MUST be answered!
There are many questions about these bills that so far have gone unanswered. Choose one from the list below, and call members of the Assembly Appropriations Committee and make sure they know what questions to ask on March 18.
1) A-2461 repeals the “non-forfeitable right” for employees who have reached five years of service. This means that the State can reduce benefits for new employees at any time. Don’t public employees deserve to know how their pension benefits will be calculated? How can they plan for retirement without a formula to rely on?
2) A-2461 allows for workers with fewer than 10 years of service to opt-out of the current defined benefit plan. If the state and local government are not planning on making a full payment for 8 more years, should we really be reducing cash flow into the system? Do you know that once an employee opts-out, this decision is irrevocable? Did you know that if an employee opts-out, they are ineligible for post-retirement medical benefits? Has any analysis been done to determine how many people would opt-out?
3) A-2460 requires that changes negotiated by the State with State employee unions be immediately applied to the School Employees Health Benefits Plan. Doesn’t this infringe upon the rights of school employees to have their benefits collectively bargained by their representative? How can a school district negotiate benefits with any certainty when changes bargained by state unions can be imposed at anytime?
4) A-2460 would change the definition of “full-time employee” so that one must work at least 25 hours per week to qualify for health benefits in the SEHBP. With all of the efforts at the federal level to increase access to health insurance, why are we about to pass legislation to eliminate health coverage for our lowest paid and most vulnerable employees?
Call members of the Assembly Appropriations Committee now and ask if they have answers to any of these questions!
Assembly Appropriations Committee
Nellie Pou
Bergen, Passaic
(973) 247-1555
Ruben Ramos
Hudson
(201) 714-4960
Dawn Marie Addiego
Burlington
(609) 654-1498
Peter Barnes
Middlesex
(732) 548-1406
Upendra Chivukula
Middlesex, Somerset
(732) 247-3999
Herb Conaway
Burlington, Camden
(856) 461-3997
John DiMaio
Warren, Hunterdon
(908) 684-9550
Louis Greenwald
Camden
(856) 435-1247
John McKeon
Essex
(973) 275-1113
Erik Peterson
Warren, Hunterdon
(908) 237-4694
Linda Stender
Middlesex, Somerset, Union
(908) 668-1900
Samuel Thompson
Middlesex, Monmouth
(732) 583-5558
ACT TODAY – PENSIONS AND BENEFITS ARE ON THE LINE!