Lawmakers consider pension cuts

TAMPA - Back in 2008, Florida was one of only four states in the nation that could cover its pension costs.

New York, Washington and Wisconsin are the other states in with their pension funds in the best financial shape.

But with the recession, Florida's pension fund has slipped into the red for the first time since 1997, and the shortfall is expected to get worse this year.

Filling the $15.4 billion deficit for 2009 will require a big hike in contributions -- around 40 percent from local governments, which really means the taxpayers.

Another possibility is making these workers pay into their own pensions. State employees contribute "zero" to their pension fund; and in 44 other states, employees are required to contribute about five percent of their salaries on average.

Now, Florida lawmakers are talking about cuts.The generous pension plan state workers have looked forward to may be smaller in the future.

There are 12 bills working their way though the Legislature aimed in one way or another at reducing the cost of the Florida retirement system. Investments aren't doing well, and the people who say they're going to be hit the hardest are the folks who come running when you need help -- like firefighters and police officers.

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Ask a firefighter, and they'll you they put their lives on the line for more than the paycheck.

Police officers never know if the shift they are working will be their last.

But the lucrative pensions that drive many of these first responders through 25 and 30 years of high-risk service are endangered. In Tallahassee, there are bills that would dramatically cut future state pension benefits.

It's legislation that doesn't sit will with Hillsborough Fire Rescue Union President George Sucarichi.

"They worked under a certain premise that they'd have that retirement there. They could expect a certain percentage, a certain wage, and they've planned for 20 or 25 years for that purpose, only now to find out that 30 to 40 or 50 percent of their pension may be pulled out from under them," Sucarichi said.

>> Pew Center research on pensions

Some of the bills would cut retirement benefits for a million state employees by averaging not the top five years of pay, including overtime; but instead, an average of total career pay, without overtime or leftover sick pay.

Employee contributions would go up, along with the number of years required to qualify for a pension, which is very disappointing to sheriff's recruits we spoke to in Hillsborough County.

"We're putting out lives on the line everyday. We don't know if we're coming home every day, so changing the pension plan changes the whole picture," said cadet Mariana Goncalves.

Supporters in the Legislature say that pay for law enforcement, firefighters and teachers is much higher than it used to be, and there's no more need for higher pensions.

Politics is also coming into play: angry voters are not about to pay higher taxes for pensions or anything else for that matter.

Economist Rodney Johnson says the time for public pension cuts is ripe.

"Fiscal responsibility is the new catch phrase, and it's what taxpayers want, because taxpayers are looking at their personal budget and saying, 'I don't have anything extra'," Johnson said.

Critics say it's those who can afford it the least who will be the hit the hardest by legislators anxious to fill billion dollar holes in Florida's budget.

"I'm having a panic attack," says Drexel Jackson, a 20-year employee of the Hillsborough Tax Collector's Office. "To think that myself and people like me are being targeted in this way as a means of filling up that hole is scary."

Hillsborough Fire Rescue Chief Bill Nesmith says his main concern is retention. He worries that the onslaught of pension cuts will cause many veterans to retire early, robbing his department of those who could pass their skills and experience down to those firefighters coming up.