Can you retire after 20 years?
STUART
ALTERMAN
As of Jan. 20, 2000, an addition to the statutes
governing pensions for Law Enforcement Officers
provides the option to pursue a 50-percent pension
after 20 years of service. However, there have been
several recent instances where officers have
applied for retirement benefits pursuant to
Chapter 428 and were deemed ineligible for service
retirements, despite seemingly meeting the statutory requirements.
We recently argued a specific matter involving a
Passaic County corrections officer seeking to retire
pursuant to the statute. He did, in fact, retire and began to receive
pension payments. Months later, the Pension Board, operating
under an ill-conceived interpretation of the statute, reversed its
position and discharged the officer’s retirement, terminating his
benefits. The NJ State PBA was, is and continues to be fully aware of
the issue, and is working to ensure that NJ law enforcement officers
receive the benefit of the statute. PBA President Patrick Colligan has
made this a top priority, and continues to zealously pursue the right
for members to apply for a 20-year pension.
Members of the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System (PFRS)
have applied for the 20-year retirement, but were denied based
upon the time of their entrance into the system. The reasoning
given by the division of pensions and benefits is that the member
was not enrolled as a PFRS member as of Jan. 18, 2000, the effective
date of the law. This stems from a misunderstanding of the law,
which states:
“Any member of the retirement system as of the effective
date of P
.L.1999, c. 428 who has 20 or more years of creditable service at the time of retirement shall be entitled to
receive a retirement allowance equal to 50 percent of the
member's final compensation plus, in the case of a member required to retire pursuant to the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, 3 percent of final compensation
multiplied by the number of years of creditable service
over 20 but not over 25.” N.J.S.A. § 43:16A-5
The Pension Board’s argument stems from misunderstanding of
the statute. The Board views the statute a ́