Brick to Save $600K Under Pension Reform
Fiscal year 2013 pension contributions are recalculated
Brick Township taxpayers will contribute about $601,374 less to retirement funds than previously projected for fiscal year 2013 under pension reforms approved by the New Jersey Legislature last year, according to a statement from Gov. Chris Christie's administration.
Local governments and school districts in Ocean County will save a total of $6.1 million under the revised bills, according to the Christie administration.
Brick Township, the township's fire districts, housing authority and the Brick Township Municipal Utilities Authority, as well as the Brick Township Board of Education, Ocean County College, the vocational school along with the other towns and school districts in Ocean County originally were to contribute a combined total of $86,998,825 to the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System (PFRS) and the Public Employee Retirement System (PERS) for fiscal year 2013. That number has been reduced to $80,905,878.
The decrease in contributions for some Brick governmental entities:
- Brick Township: $331,626 less.
- Brick BOE: $180,345 less.
- BTMUA: $78,990 less.
(Editor's Note: See attached PDF for a breakdown of pension bills for Brick and other Ocean County towns.)
The governor announced Tuesday that "the historic, bipartisan pension reforms signed into law in June 2011 continue to result in millions in savings for middle-class taxpayers," an administration statement reads. "New lower bills will be provided to local governments today showing county savings of nearly $6.1 million and statewide savings of $116 million due to the pension management reforms implemented under the Christie administration."
The $116 million in savings announced Tuesday is additional, new savings for local governments. The Christie administration attributed the savings to responsible management initiatives by the New Jersey Department of the Treasury and new oversight boards.
Administration officials report that more than $43 million in local government savings come from PFRS and more than $72 million from PERS.
The Christie administration estimates the pension reforms of 2011 will save state and local taxpayers more than $120 billion over 30 years.
Bob
12:37 pm on Monday, October 22, 2012
Just another Christie ploy, the savings are nothing more than the towns and state not making full contributions, unlike the workers who have to make FULL contributions, no exceptions...
concerned citizen
3:27 pm on Monday, October 22, 2012
These politicians are so worried about the little man collecting a pension when in reality, they also collect one when they retire. Of course, you can't compare the size of our meager pensions to the ones that they receive.
Fred
8:55 pm on Monday, October 22, 2012
Your "Little Man" pensions are bleeding this State dry. The Public Service unions have to go. Let's see how you all fare when you actually have to compete and perform in order to get and keep a job. Unions are for people who would rather be sheep than lead.
No HOPE. No SOLUTIONS.
3:43 pm on Monday, October 22, 2012
c c - what politicians get a pension?
"you can't compare the size of our meager pensions to the ones that they receive."
Explain how a part time person gets more than a full time person assuming they do. If they do, I agree...that is wrong. NO PENSIONS FOR ANYONE ON THE BACKS OF THE REST OF US.
Lori Morrison
7:39 pm on Monday, October 22, 2012
All elected and politically appointed officials receive a pension and health care benefits for life on the state and county level of government. If they were required to pay for their benefits in full and cut the pension amounts in half and put that money back into the underfunded state public pension funds, it would be 100% funded within a few years. The same should apply for federal government.
Jerry P.
4:01 pm on Monday, October 22, 2012
Exactly right Bob. Christy Whitman decided when the pensions were 120% funded that the state and towns didn't have to pay into them while the contributors(cops firement public workers still did). All this was in name of property tax reform... I dare any NJ residents tell me their property taxes went down during that time period. The politicians used it for their own projects and gains.....Alll a bunch of Bull. We have highest taxes in NJ not cause of the public workers but cause of the politicians who have mismanaged it for the past 30 years. Call a spade a spade
What you talkin about Willis?
8:17 pm on Monday, October 22, 2012
Jerome - that makes zero sense. If our taxes are up and they didn't fund the pensions, wouldn't they have needed more tax dollars to fund the pensions which means our taxes would go up even more? Where would the money come from to fund the pensions or what would you have cut out? School aid (increases our taxes), muni aid (increases our taxes), government pay or ?????
You don't think Pensions are a problem but somehow Brick can save $600k a year out of our $7.5 millon we pay towards pensions now. That $7.5 million is almost 10% of our budget and more than 10% of our local tax.
Why should Brick taxpayers pay for pensions instead of our own? Get rid of the pensions and give Brick taxpayers a 10% tax cut forever!!!
What you talkin about Willis?
8:08 pm on Monday, October 22, 2012
Lori - can you please provide the backup to what you wrote. I find it hard to believe that local committee people get pensions and benefits. Even if they do and i hope they don't how does a person making $5k affect the system as you describe?
The system is flawed because people earn 100k and get 75% when they retire
The pay gap has only widened between government and private workers.
http://www.federalnewsradio.com//189/3085581/Pay-gap-between-government-private-sector-widens-to-34-percent