ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE GOVERNOR’S PROPOSED EARLY RETIREMENT INCENTIVE

I have a couple of questions on the proposed early retirement incentive. The October 26 memo on the Impact of the WTC Attack said the proposed incentive was for anyone 50 years of age w/10 years of credited pension service.  Is this really so? Members can retire at age 50 and collect a pension?  If so, are there additional penalties applied for retiring before 55?   Can employees in Tiers 1 and 2 still receive the benefit enhancement of up to two years of additional credited pension service that was provided in pension reform legislation passed when we agreed to our current contract, in addition to the 3 yrs. incentive?

Any info/clarification you can give will be greatly appreciated.  This is generating a lot of interest. 

Under the governor’s proposal you can retire at age 50 with 10 years of service but there are penalties as stated in the October 26 memo, they are the same penalties that exist in law today PLUS an additional 5% a year penalty for each year prior to age 55 the member retires.  That means that if a member retires at age 50 they will receive a pension reduction of 25% in additional penalties.  If they are members of Tier II, III or IV they will receive another 27% reduction in their pension benefit.  Employees who are offered the proposed early retirement incentive can receive up to 3 years in additional credited pension service (1 month of extra credit for every year of service) and employees in Tier 1 and Tier 2 can also receive the benefit enhancement of up to 2 years of credited service.  Early retirement incentives NEVER add years to your age, they generally just add to your years of credited pension service which increases your pension benefit. 

I hope this clears up any confusion.