Votes, veterans and pensions
PENSION BENEFITS REPORT
As we turn the calendar page on November, I’d
like to thank the men and women of the NJ State
PBA who have served our country in various military branches. In addition to taking time away from
families and loved ones to serve as law
enforcement officers in their respective communities, this courageous group of PBA members has
also taken time to serve abroad, protecting our citPETER
izens and those in other nations who cannot
ANDREYEV protect themselves. These men and women should
be recognized as often as possible, not just one day
in November. Their selfless acts of bravery and service don’t go
unnoticed in the NJ State PBA.
That being said, members of the NJ Police and Firemen’s Retirement System (PFRS) who are veterans can purchase their previous
military time and add service credit in their PFRS pensions. Members applying for the purchase of military time may be eligible to
purchase up to 10 years of active duty military service. Members
interested in purchasing service credit would need to log into their
Member Benefits Online System (MBOS) account and submit the
application. If there are questions regarding purchasing military
service credit, please feel free to email or call me at the NJSPBA
office.
Another day of importance in November was Election Day. On
Nov. 3, the NJ State PBA sponsored call centers in the 1st, 2nd and
38th Legislative Districts. PBA members in those districts also
walked neighborhoods and urged residents to vote. I believe the NJ
State PBA is the premiere labor union representing the finest law
enforcement officers in the state. It is initiatives like this where we
can show the Legislature that police lives matter. By taking part in
this initiative, the NJ State PBA has put all of us front and center in
the political arena. By doing this we will fight legislation that seeks
to weaken us by taking away our pensions, health care and virtually
everything we have worked so hard to get during the past 20 years.
By being front and center, maybe we can compel legislators to
make pension payments and keep the fund solvent. With us front
and center, we will become names and faces to legislators who may
think twice before they vote against us like they did in 2010 and 2011
when sweeping changes were enacted to our healthcare and pension contributions.
By being front and center, we’re not just empty uniforms. If you
are paying 35 percent of the medical premium for your health benefits right now, you should be angry and looking to assist the NJ
State PBA with changing the way politicians think about us. The
only way we can overcome this is by getting out and voting regularly.
We must be engaged in everything: voting in municipal and school
board elections, the PFRS Board of Trustees and your Local PBA
executive board. Your vote does matter and it is your Constitutional
obligation to vote. It is what our veterans work so hard to protect
when they serve our country.
So this month, I hope you’ll join me in thanking a veteran for his
or her service, and hope you got out and voted. d
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NOVEMBER 2015
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