Democrats in the New Jersey Legislature--as well as the state's new Republican governor--are giving a cold shoulder to once powerful public employee unions. The unions, "long seen as a potent political force and often depicted as an 800-pound gorilla looming over the Statehouse, are running short.. Read More
Visions of sugar plums dance in the heads of older state workers--amid Albany's $9 billion budget gap. They dream of fatter pensions should Senate approve Governor Paterson's early retirement bill as the Assembly did this week. Although a bonanza for... Read More
Local governments are not racing to adopt the state's early retirement incentive, which would help trim their payrolls while increasing their pension costs. In St. Lawrence County, officials have advised county legislators to vote against offering... Read More
School superintendents don't get overtime, but that didn't prevent former Niagara Falls School Superintendent Carmen A. Granto Jr. from collecting a pension larger than his salary. He did so by cashing in 45 unused vacation days and 747 unused sick days... Read More
Discovering that government employees work extra overtime to spike their pensions is akin to learning there's gambling in Casablanca. Read More
Retired police officers who hope to collect a pension while working as a local police chief are facing new obstacles to double dipping. A 2008 state law has imposed a more stringent review process before any state retiree is granted a waiver allowing him... Read More
Cayuga County legislators will vote Tuesday on a plan to increase their pensions by reducing their workweek from 35 to 30 hours. If approved by the 15-member Legislature, members will qualify for full-time pension credit, rather than two-thirds... Read More
Officials in New Hartford say they were surprised to learn recently that town bookkeeper Carol Fairbrother retired in 2007 and now collects a pension of $42,696 on top of her $58,714 salary. Read More