Villaraigosa Pushes Pension Rollbacks

March 3, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is pushing a plan under which civilian city employees would see their pension benefits cut back and their retirement age increased, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The Times said Villaraigosa is calling for the amount the newly hired civilian city workers can get at retirement after 46.3 years to be cut from 100% of salary to 75%, and the newly hired civilian employees would be able to retire at 65 rather than the current 55.

Villaraigosa and the City Council already have a measure on the March 8 ballot that would trim retirement benefits for newly hired police officers and firefighters, the Times said. So far, they have not campaigned for that proposal and did not bother to put an argument on the ballot in favor of it.

That measure, known as Charter Amendment G, would continue to allow police officers and firefighters to retire as early as age 50 and receive 90% of their salaries if they work 33 years.

The mayor has also called on his appointees at the Police and Fire Pension Board to reject a proposal for a 7% increase in the health benefits for retired police and firefighters this year -– a move that would cost $4.8 million next year, the news report said.

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