NH Retirement System Appealing Order to Release Retiree Names
In September, a superior court judge ordered the system to release the names of the 500 pension recipients who received the highest payments in 2009. The Manchester Union Leader newspaper sought the names under the Right-to-Know Law.
However, NHRS says the court misinterpreted the Right-to-Know law in the ruling, noting that the law refers to public employees and the retirees are no longer public employees, according to the Foster’s Daily Democrat. The NHRS maintains that releasing the names of pension recipients would be a violation of those recipients’ right to privacy.
The system has posted a list of information on more than 23,500 pension recipients displaying the adjusted gross pension amount, the benefit type and the last position the retiree worked.
“We chose to post the individual pension amounts online, without names, because we believe it gives the public relevant information regarding the levels of benefits and pension policy in a way that does not compromise the privacy rights of our retirees or their beneficiaries,” said NHRS Executive Director Dick Ingram in a statement, according to the news report.