Massachusetts pensions keep bulging with state paying out $5.44B
UMass retirees top the state’s $5.44 billion pension system, with the university’s former President William “Billy” Bulger set to pocket nearly $272,000 this year, records show.
The retirement fund — obtained by the Herald through a public records request — lists 1,540 pensioners who are set to earn six-figure payouts as the state struggles mightily during the coronavirus pandemic.
“The fact that Billy Bulger comes in third is very symbolic,” said Paul Craney of the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance. “State House leaders have a problem on their hands, and they refuse to deal with it.”
Records from the Comptroller’s office show nearly 126,000 entries for those retirees receiving pension payouts this year — from former educators to retired state police brass. And more than 2,000 state workers have opted to retire this year in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jared Walczak, director of state tax policy for the Washington, D.C.- based nonpartisan Tax Foundation, said Monday those who have a “good pension are in a good situation.”
The stock market remains in a state of flux responding to COVID-19 flare-ups, but has been surprisingly strong lately. As of Monday, the global economy halted its freefall from earlier this year. But that could be temporary.
Walczak warned pension systems nationwide remain underfunded and 401(k) retirement funds are married to the fluctuations of the market.
“The stock market looks strong but the economy doesn’t,” Walczak added. “There will be challenges for pension funds in the coming years.”
Massachusetts pensions will continue to be a drag on the budget through 2036 as the state maps out its annual pension payment — reportedly 9.6% each year and by more than 3% over the three-year period.
But that’s all before coronavirus came into the picture.
“The COVID-19 pandemic creates new problems,” said Walczak, who noted everyone being in lockdown slammed state tax revenues. “Some states can’t afford pensions.”
The Massachusetts pension report shows two former UMass Medical leaders collecting $300,000-plus each in retirement. Ten more state pensioners earn $200,000 or more, including Bulger.
Former state police colonels Kerry Gilpin and Richard McKeon both earn $170,000-plus in retirement, records show. Both left the job while the force was in the midst of overtime and Troopergate scandals.
But the list of high-paid retirement checks doesn’t stop there. Public school superintendents, college presidents, professors and a slew of retired judges are pulling down $138,000 each in retirement, records show.
In 2019, more than 5,300 state employees retired.
In 2018, the number of retirees was about the same, at 5,205.
Walczak said this year’s total could dip because state employees — who base their retirements on the top three earning years — could wait for promotions or pay hikes that were put off due to the pandemic.
It all adds up to a pension fund that appears to be worth waiting for.
from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/31dIi1z
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