Altoona Mirror | Chief: I’m not getting pension payments

By on March 15, 2012   /   Pennsylvania Press, Press  

Findings from TUA’s pension project on Altoona and Blair County are featured in this article at the Altoona Mirror. UPDATE: A response to this article has been made here.

Altoona Fire Chief Reynold D. Santone Jr. disagrees with a Chicago-based organization that claims he is double dipping.
Representatives of Taxpayers United of America stopped in Altoona on Tuesday to discuss the results of a new pension study that is says exposes the top pensions for the retired government employees of Altoona and Blair County, which range as high as $1.4 million and to push for pension system reform.
Santone is receiving an annual pension of $48,328 from the City of Altoona with an estimated lifetime pension payout of $1,449,835, according to the study.
“He is the current fire chief, and he is in the pension system now,” said Vice President Christina Tobin, whose father, Jim, founded the grassroots organization in 1976. “He is collecting a pension from the pension system today. It is like he is double dipping.”
Santone said that is not the case.
He said he dropped out of the pension plan in 2009 but remained employed by the city as fire chief.
“I am not getting pension money. My pension was frozen in 2009. I had to give up post-retirement health care and 101 sick days to get into the plan,” Santone said. “I can’t touch that money until I actually retire from the City of Altoona. It is not like I am getting paid by the City of Altoona and getting a pension.”
Blair County Sheriff Mitchell Cooper, who retired as an Altoona police officer in 2008 after nearly 26 years on the force, is at the top of the Altoona Police pensions list, the taxpayers group said.
Cooper is receiving an annual pension of $42,852 with an estimated lifetime pension payout of $1,285,564.
Cooper said he is receiving the pension money.
“I put my time in and am getting the pension the city and FOP [Fraternal Order of Police] agreed to over the years,” Cooper said. “I don’t believe that Altoona police officers’ pensions compare to those of some other agencies. There are members of other police agencies that make more than the Altoona police.”
Meanwhile, TUA members will be in Harrisburg today to deliver letters to Gov. Tom Corbett and members of the General Assembly.
“We are calling for meaningful pension reform here in Pennsylvania,” Tobin said. “Ending pensions for all new government hires will eventually eliminate unfunded government pensions. Putting new government hires into Social Security and 401(k)s would achieve this.”
The group also is calling for all government employees participating in a government pension fund to contribute an additional 10 percent toward their pension.
“Our position is to pay these people a fair wage and let them save for their own retirement. Pay people for the job they do and let them save for their own retirement,” TUA Director of Outreach Rae Ann McNeilly said.
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Philadelphia PA: Government Pensions Revealed!

By on March 15, 2012   /   Latest, Pennsylvania, Pension Reform  

View release as a PDF
PHILADELPHIA—Taxpayers United of America (TUA) today revealed retired government employee pensions for the City of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania statewide government teachers. Many Pennsylvania government employees are becoming pension millionaires when retired.
“Many government retirees make more in pension payments than the private sector taxpayers make in salaries,” stated Christina Tobin, TUA Vice President. “Both the economy and the pension system are in serious trouble. While taxpayers struggle to save for their own retirement and fund the pension system, government retirees have to be concerned that their pension payments will continue.”
“I have delivered letters to Gov. Corbett and each member of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, calling for meaningful pension reforms that will be both fair and sustainable. TUA is ready to work with legislators to implement reforms that will preserve the system for those that are relying on it, and bring relief to the taxpayers who are obligated to fund it.”
“Private sector taxpayers are struggling in the ‘Great Recession,’ with an average income of $56,000.
The unemployment/underemployment rate (U6) is 14.9%. The maximum Social Security annual payout is $22,000, regardless of how much one may have earned in their working career.”
“Sylvester Johnson, retired Philadelphia government employee, collects an annual pension of $152,440. His estimated lifetime payout is $4,573,199.*”
“Vincent Jannetti, retired from the Philadelphia government, has an annual pension of $133,097 with an estimated lifetime payout of $3,992,915*.”
“Retired Pennsylvania teacher, Anthony V. Costello, has a lifetime estimated payout of $6,680,556* based on his actual annual pension of $222,685.”
“Pennsylvania government pension systems are making millionaires out of public employees at taxpayer expense. Ending pensions for all new government hires and replacing with social security and 401(k)s would eventually eliminate unfunded government pensions. If government employees would just increase their pension contributions, they would preserve their pension benefits. Anything less will ensure the system’s collapse and Pennsylvania government retirees will get nothing. We need a stable system that is fair to both taxpayers and beneficiaries.”
“Every employee deserves a fair wage for the work they do at the time they do it so they can plan for their own retirement, rather than counting on the bureaucrats who helped create such an unstable situation.”
“This is the time for the political courage to do what’s in the best interest of taxpayers, rather than the special interests. Let’s knock any politician out-of-office who cuts bad deals with union bosses and corporations! Republican or Democrat, what’s the difference, with numbers like these?”
View pension amounts below:

*TUA submits FOIA requests for actual pensions. Since personal information is not available, lifetime pension payouts must be estimated based on retirement at 60 for university employees and 55 for all others, life expectancy of 85, and without COLA.
All annual pensions included in this report are derived by annualizing the benefit amount provided by the legal representative of the subject fund.

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Pennsylvania Pensions Corrections

By on March 15, 2012   /   Latest, Pennsylvania, Pension Reform  

Monday, TUA (Taxpayers United of America) announced Pittsburgh public employee pension figures that were based on information obtained from Right-to-Know requests of city and county pension funds.
Attorney for the pension fund, Jim South, said that the information they provided was inaccurate based on the actual request for pension data.
“The figures were wrong, because the information we received from the city was wrong,” stated Christina Tobin, Vice President of TUA. “The city said they will provide the correct information, which TUA will publish upon receipt.”
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In Altoona, TUA was told it was incorrect in stating that Reynold Santone, Jr., the current fire chief, was getting pension payments since 4/1/2009 of $4000 a month.
TUA was informed by Kimberly Carrieri, Deputy City Clerk, that Mr. Santone has not directly received the payments; instead, he is in a ‘drop program.’ His pension benefit is taken out of the pension fund, and placed in a special pension account for him. So while he is not currently collecting it directly, the money is indeed, being accumulated for him.
“Mr. Santone would be disingenuous to deny that he is not receiving both a pension and salary from the taxpayers of Altoona.  A deferred payment is a payment. This ability to double dip from taxpayers is precisely why TUA names names.  It is one of the many flaws of the current pension system in Altoona, the flaws created by bad union bosses making deals with bad politicians at the expense of taxpayers and rank-and-file alike” added Tobin.
View/download the orginal raw data provided by Altoona and Pittsburgh city governments:

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