Most publicly funded disability pensions are completely justified, but reasonable people could be forgiven if they consider those featured in our latest special report downright lame.
Two retired Quincy firefighters notice they’re losing their hearing as they get older and successfully apply to have their pensions enhanced by getting a doctor to say the disability is tied to years of sirens and loud fire trucks.
Carver officials bent on firing a police officer they say has been lying about a knee injury decide to instead let him resign, thereby making him eligible for a disability pension when he later finds out he has high blood pressure.
Deval Patrick and legislative leaders were beaming proudly on Tuesday when the governor signed a pension reform law designed to eliminate many of the most offensive pension abuses. But our three-day series – Disability Pensions: Abuse Costs Us Millions – shows there’s a gaping hole in the measure.
The problem is nobody on Beacon Hill is willing to take on powerful unions and important constituencies in an effort to make it harder for people who don’t deserve such perks to get them.
There’s certainly no sign of resolve in comments made by local legislators.
“You can never totally eliminate the people who are going to work the system,” said state Sen. Brian A. Joyce, D-Milton.
“(You’re) going to have to trust that the series of eyes looking at these are going to make the right decision,” said Sen. Michael Morrissey, D-Quincy. “You cannot address legislatively every single problem.”
It’s a defeatist attitude that is costing taxpayers millions of dollars.
More than one in 10 retired city or town employees in 26 local communities are collecting tax-free pensions after being declared permanently disabled on the job.
These accidental-disability pensions amount to $23 million a year in 26 communities south of Boston.
Public records furnished by the nine retirement systems that cover the region show that 729 out of a total of more than 6,750 retired city and town employees – about 11 percent – are on accidental-disability retirement.
There’s no question many cases are legitimate and part of society’s bargain with public employees who work difficult and often dangerous jobs. Others cases, however, raise serious concerns that the system lacks safeguards to ensure taxpayers aren’t footing a larger bill than necessary. Especially when taxpayers are facing an economic future that pushes retirement further away or, in some cases, makes it impossible.
What's worse is it it’s likely to get worse. Economists say disability- pension requests rise when the economies sink.
Elected officials cannot shrink from this important fight. They must find a way to protect legitimate claims while defeating the efforts of a select few who seek to loot the system.
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