Community | July 23, 2011 | 12 comments

Rhode Island city asks retirees to permanently cut their own pensions by a full 50%

source: http://articles.cnn.com/2011-07-21/us/rhode.island.pensioners_1_retirees-pensions-social-sec...

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Schnookums
As cities across the United States struggle to keep their finances afloat, Central Falls, Rhode Island, is taking a novel approach to try to avoid bankruptcy.

The city is asking police and firefighter retirees to give up 50% of their pension.

On Tuesday, a state-appointed receiver, Judge Robert Flanders, met with constituents to discuss options that will prevent the city from filing for bankruptcy, but the choices seemed limited: either volunteer for the pension cut, or risk losing it all.

The city has a $5 million per year structural deficit, said Michael Trainor, a spokesman for Flanders.

"Going forward, it's now at a point where a city is about to run out of cash," he added.

Central Falls, a city of 19,000 residents living in roughly a square mile, has historically had difficulty reducing its expenses because of a decline in population and the resulting smaller tax revenues, according to Trainor.

Each of the 141 city retirees will receive a voting ballot and a packet by the end of the week, showing how much of their pensions will be slashed if they agree to volunteer for the benefits cut.

With August set as the deadline for further decisions on the financial future of the city, Flanders hopes to find out residents' decisions by the end of the month.

Those who were planning to retire soon are now worried about doing so, fearing that they may end up with nothing. Firefighters in the city do not receive Social Security benefits.

"They're very concerned about what's happening, they worked 20-25 years of their career, they were anticipating having this benefit that they were promised the day they were hired," said Michael Andrews, president for local firefighters' union.

Though the measures seem drastic, residents are being told that it's a far better choice than "being at the mercy of the bankruptcy court."

"It was a very difficult meeting, there was a lot of concern and anger," said Trainor of Tuesday's event.

Flanders "hopes, in the case of the retirees, that they would agree," Trainor said.

"Better to accept his proposal than taking a chance with the bankruptcy court," he added

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-07-21/us/rhode.island.pensioners_1_retirees-pension...:US
  1. groups:
    Community,   Greatest Depression,   Business News & Analysis
  2. tags:
    Bankruptcy,  Pension Funds,  Public Union
  3.     
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12 comments // Rhode Island city asks retirees to permanently cut their own pensions by a full 50%

  • cmc101
    • 0
      cmc101  

    • what is good for the goose is good for the gander
      Let them have tax breaks for the rich and
      state property for the retirement funds

    • 10 months ago
  • meesh76
    • +1
      meesh76  

    • Don't worry about these folks--once the city slashes their pensions, and the SS modifications take effect, by way of age requirements, they can work another 5 years atleast before they would need to "retire" and simply die..courtesy of the Republican universal health plan.

    • 10 months ago
  • wtthfkovr
  • remanns
  • asocial
    • +3
      asocial  

    • The retirees should get together and sue the city for breach of contract, and after they win, they should take every city building away from the assholes who would fuck them out of their pensions.

    • 10 months ago
  • ithink
    • +2
      ithink  

    • Ladies and Gentlemen this is a great example of how well off you would be to go along with the republicans privatizing plan on social security,medicare,and medicaid hey Paul Ryan you forgot to mention this possibility in your great budget plan or maybe i could,nt see it in all that fine print

    • 10 months ago
  • alexandrek
  • Schnookums
    • +4
      Schnookums  
    • alexandrek:

      The defense isn't for the flesh-and-blood citizens, it's for the corporate citizens who wish to have unfettered access to the World without fear of losing profits to disgruntled 'terrorists'.

    • 10 months ago
  • nashkildare
  • Schnookums
    • +3
      Schnookums  

    • I expect this very sad story to play out in cities across the nation over the next decade or so. I believe a true reorganization of society will be necessary to restore the social contracts that Americans have looked forward to all their lives. That, or give it up completely. I think we all know what the Money behind the Tea Party has in mind.....

    • 10 months ago
  • tverdell
  • Schnookums
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