LPP REPORT
LPP enhancements
for Plan Year 18
Starting in May, you will see added coverage
to your legal protection plan. We are also en-
hancing the plan in ways that you may not see.
The biggest change is the addition of a death
benefit that will commence for those enrolled
in the traditional legal protection plan or the
waiver of limits coverage. The death benefit is
NOT being added to the Class 3 or LEOSA cov-
erage.
There will be a death benefit for active en-
rollees in the amount of $10,000. This benefit
will be increased to $25,000 for line-of-duty deaths. The check
will be paid as soon as possible after the passing of the member
to the beneficiary determined by the LPP Committee. It is the
intention of the committee to pay the benefit to an immediate
surviving family member when practicable. This payment is in
addition to any line-of-duty payment that is made by the Survi-
vor and Welfare Fund.
The next big change is that if a plan attorney intends to file a
lawsuit that will affect another PBA member, that attorney must
notify the plan administrator before the suit is filed. As we have
advised in the past, member-on-member civil action is becom-
ing a problem. If this process is not followed, we will be actively
moving to remove attorneys who use this process for anything
other than a last resort.
Adjusting hourly rate for attorneys
The last major change we are making is an adjustment to the
hourly rate paid to our attorneys. When we took control of the
plan in 2002, the rate was $115 per hour. It was raised a few years
later to $125, and then five years ago, we raised it to $130. For
claims made after May 1, we will be paying $150 per hour. This
number brings our compensation closer to what municipalities
pay. It also represents an increase of less than 2 percent per year
going back to 2002. With this increase, we will be requiring more
accountability on the part of attorneys. We are also rolling out
a chat room for the attorneys to exchange ideas and briefs that
will help us cut down on redundancy.
On behalf of the committee, we are grateful to offer these
enhancements because our past changes have proven fruitful,
and the investment guidance of our leadership has given us the
ability to once again grow our benefits with no increase in en-
rollment fees!
The Law Firm of
Alterman & Associates, LLC
Stuart J. Alterman, Esquire
Arthur J. Murray, Esquire
Timothy J. Prol, Esquire
Proudly representing Law Enforcement and Public Safety for a combined 80 years
Contract Negotiation
Contract Arbitration
Grievances/ Arbitration
Discipline Defense
Whistleblower /CEPA
Hostile Work Environment
Pension/Disability Appeals
Criminal Defense
Workers Compensation
Personal Injury
Human Resource Issues
Civil Rights Litigation
Administrative
One Stop Shop for Public Safety
Alterman & Associates, LLC have been an approved law firm with the PBA Legal Protection Plan since its inception.
South Jersey Location
North Jersey Location
8 South Maple Avenue, Marlton, NJ 08053
22 Church Street, Haledon, NJ 07508
(856) 334-5737
(973) 956-1621
[email protected]
www.altermanandassociates.com
www.NJPoliceAttorney.com
www.NJCorrectionsAttorney.com
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NEW JERSEY COPS
■ MARCH 2019