Details about this story

• Source: New York Times
• Date: June 15, 2007
• URL: Read the story
• Bylines: David W. Chen , Jo Craven-McGinty
• Topics: State Government
• Data Types: State Data
• Description/Excerpt: A review by The New York Times of New Jersey pension records and government and legislative reports relating to its 2002 early retirement plan reveals the following problems: ¶More than 5,500 workers - better than twice what the state had originally projected - received early retirement packages, which added thousands of dollars to many workers' annual pensions. The larger number of retirements has meant higher than projected long-term costs to the pension and retiree health care systems. ¶Though the McGreevey administration pledged to keep half of the vacated jobs open for three years, only 210 state-financed vacancies remained by the end of the next fiscal year. The total amount spent on state salaries did not decline. ¶The normal review process for the early retirement legislation did not occur because a special panel that analyzes all pension-related bills did not meet that entire year. ¶More than 2,000 of the retirees were in federally financed jobs for which the state did not realize any saving in salaries. Yet the state will still have to cover their retirement costs. In his budget address this year, Gov. Jon S. Corzine warned that New Jersey faced a $25 billion shortfall in the $80 billion pension system. Some experts say the gap is much larger.