Post by onthejob on Feb 26, 2015 16:02:44 GMT -5
By Gloria Pazmino 6:59 p.m. | Feb. 25, 2015
In response to his opponent’s planned lobbying trip to Albany on Thursday, Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association president Pat Lynch called Brian Fusco an “inexperienced amateur” whose aspirations to the union presidency will negatively impact members.
"These inexperienced amateurs have no idea that they're doing the City's bidding and will end up hurting our members by leading our elected officials to believe that the inferior overall benefits of the Tier 6 pension plan,” Lynch said in a statement to Capital. “No political campaign should ever seek to undermine our efforts on behalf of our members, or to advance their own interests to the detriment of police officers, and that's exactly what they're doing."
Fusco and other union members will lobby Albany lawmakers on Thursday to pass legislation to end what he describes as “abuses” to young officers within the Tier 3 pension system.
What Fusco is proposing would mirror current disability pension benefits enjoyed by officers hired before July 1, 2009. Those officers were placed into Tier 2, and receive 75 percent of their salary, tax free, for their rest of their life. In addition, Social Security benefits are not deducted from their disability pension payout.
Lynch supports a similar, but different, plan that would place officers into Tier 2.
Fusco's plan requires higher contribution rates but provides three-quarters of untaxed pension pay out. The higher contribution, would translate into a 3 percent reduction of the officers’ take-home pay, according to the P.B.A.
Lynch said his plan already has plenty of support.
“We are asking our City leaders to honor that obligation by equalizing disability pension benefits for all members of the NYPD," Lynch said in the statement. "This long-running effort has succeeded in building considerable support in the Council, with 35 members currently signed on in support of this change. We have also undertaken additional efforts in the form of a statewide bill, which already has the support of the NYS Senate."
In response to his opponent’s planned lobbying trip to Albany on Thursday, Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association president Pat Lynch called Brian Fusco an “inexperienced amateur” whose aspirations to the union presidency will negatively impact members.
"These inexperienced amateurs have no idea that they're doing the City's bidding and will end up hurting our members by leading our elected officials to believe that the inferior overall benefits of the Tier 6 pension plan,” Lynch said in a statement to Capital. “No political campaign should ever seek to undermine our efforts on behalf of our members, or to advance their own interests to the detriment of police officers, and that's exactly what they're doing."
Fusco and other union members will lobby Albany lawmakers on Thursday to pass legislation to end what he describes as “abuses” to young officers within the Tier 3 pension system.
What Fusco is proposing would mirror current disability pension benefits enjoyed by officers hired before July 1, 2009. Those officers were placed into Tier 2, and receive 75 percent of their salary, tax free, for their rest of their life. In addition, Social Security benefits are not deducted from their disability pension payout.
Lynch supports a similar, but different, plan that would place officers into Tier 2.
Fusco's plan requires higher contribution rates but provides three-quarters of untaxed pension pay out. The higher contribution, would translate into a 3 percent reduction of the officers’ take-home pay, according to the P.B.A.
Lynch said his plan already has plenty of support.
“We are asking our City leaders to honor that obligation by equalizing disability pension benefits for all members of the NYPD," Lynch said in the statement. "This long-running effort has succeeded in building considerable support in the Council, with 35 members currently signed on in support of this change. We have also undertaken additional efforts in the form of a statewide bill, which already has the support of the NYS Senate."