Restoring Politician Pension Pork

Excerpt:

Jobs as judges, prosecutors, and municipal business administrators are the crock of gold at the end of a politician’s rainbow here and with bailouts, unlimited debt, and an apathetic tax base ripe for plucking politicians have an opportunity to sweeten the pots. According to politicoNJ that is exactly what they are planning on doing with five bills (one already enacted).

A4313transfers Administrative Law Judges from the Defined Contribution Retirement Program to the Public Employees’ Retirement System. The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) estimates that this bill will lead to annual State cost increases resulting from the transfer of Administrative Law Judges from the Defined Contribution Retirement Program to the Public Employees’ Retirement System. The first-year cost could approximate $2million.In subsequent fiscal years, the annual State cost will grow as a function of increases in judges’ salaries and other economic factors. The bill may also make Administrative Law Judges eligible for healthcare benefit sat retirement that are not available in the Defined Contribution Retirement Program.

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S3197Clarifies eligibility for deferred retirement for certain judges in JRS. PoliticoNJ guessed at who could benefit:

The bill appears to have been written with Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone in mind, as she otherwise would have to leave the prosecutor’s position when she reaches the mandatory judicial retirement age of 70 in 2024 in order to collect her judicial pension. It also could potentially apply to Judge William Daniel, whom Murphy nominated last week as the next Union County prosecutor.

Author(s): John Bury

Publication Date: 19 June 2021

Publication Site: burypensions

Murphy will think about extending retirement age for judges

Excerpt:

Gov. Phil Murphy said he will think about increasing the mandatory retirement age of New Jersey judges beyond the age of 70.

“You do have the reality.  You’ve got a 78-year-old president who succeeded a 74-year-old president, so this is not a blip anymore,” Murphy said in response to an inquiry from the New Jersey Globe on Friday.

When New Jersey approved a new State Constitution in 1947 that forced judges to retire at 70, the average life expectancy of men in the United States – there was only one woman on the bench at the time, Libby Bernstein Sachar in Union County – was 62.

Author(s): David Wildstein

Publication Date: 26 February 2021

Publication Site: New Jersey Globe