Politics & Government

Sen. Beck Urges Assembly to Pass Pension and Benefits Reform

The District 12 senator, a co-sponsor of reform legislation, said it's necessary to help ease the tax burden on New Jersey's residents.

If the insistence of Gov. Chris Christie and recent approval of the measure by the State Senate to enact significant pension and health benefits reform for public workers weren’t enough, Sen. Jen Beck (R-12) has passed along a message to her colleagues in the New Jersey Assembly urging them to approve the legislation during their voting session Thursday.

“This bill is a strong medicine,” she said in a statement. “But it is the right medicine for a state pension and benefits system in crisis.”

The legislation, S2937, which passed Senate 24-15 Monday, would raise the minimum retirement age to 65, increase the cost of health benefits while cutting back on the kind of service offered, and end cost-of-living increases for retired teachers.

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The legislation also effectively nullifies any terms negotiated by unions through collective bargaining.

Beck, a co-sponsor of the bill, said the legislation is aimed at restoring solvency and affordability to public employee pensions and benefits. Though the reforms will be a bitter pill to swallow for the state’s half a million employees, Beck said they’re necessary to protect all of the state’s taxpayers.

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“Simply put, the pension fund will go bankrupt and subject residents to ever higher taxes if we do not enact these reforms. We are beyond the point of assigning blame for the situation we find ourselves in, and must work together across party lines to ensure that these systems are preserved for employees at a cost taxpayers can afford.”

Pension and health benefits reform has been at the top of Christie’s list since taking office as a governor who promised New Jersey’s voters change. Though Christie faced strong opposition from the largely Democrat Senate, Senate President Steve Sweeney eventually softened his stance on reform, embracing it and its significant changes, much to the chagrin of his union constituents.

Beck said the bill would provide $120 billion in tax relief to taxpayers, calling it “fair to all parties involved.”

Opponents of the legislation have pointed to the fact that several New Jersey governors in recent history, not just Christie, have caused the current pension crisis by not paying into the system despite legislation requiring them to.


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