Originally Posted by EAGLE 0N
Might be misinformed but I believe you can retire early and have a good pension plan in Law Enforcement.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/03232009/news/regionalnews/retire_20__out_rule__ex_cops_say_160853.htm
[h1]RETIRE '20-&-OUT' RULE, EX-COPS SAY[/h1]
The long-cherished "20 and out" rule that allows cops to collect pensions in their 40s is a relic of the past that should go the way of theneighborhood call box and the six-shot service revolver, retired cops say.
Many retired officers, from detectives to career flatfoots, called Mayor Bloomberg's cost-cutting effort to make new recruits work at least 25 years andreach age 50 before being eligible for a pension a fair compromise during this time of economic crisis.
"I don't consider it unreasonable. People are dying for jobs right now," said Michael Bailey, who retired as a detective in 2007 at the age of43.
Bailey retired exactly 11 days after completing his 20th year on the force the last few years, he said, on an elite counterterrorism team.
He augments his roughly $60,000 yearly pension with a corporate security job that provides a six-figure salary, far more than he earned during his last yearas a cop.
"In the beginning it might seem generous, but that pension is locked in for life. It doesn't grow much," Bailey said. "If you go out andfind a decent job that pays $50,000 you don't have to worry."
He predicted that Bloomberg's proposal would become a reality, especially since the city is projected to be on the hook for as much as $7.8 billion 11percent of the entire projected $70 billion budget by 2013.
"If you go to most major metropolitan cities now, they've all already moved to it," he said of raising the retirement requirement beyond thecurrent 20 years.
"I guarantee the city gets it in three or four years. They will squeeze. The unions used to be powerful; now they are nothing."
There are 10,381 retired NYPD officers between 40 and 49 now collecting pensions. The average pension is $43,000, not including a $12,000 supplement knownas a "Christmas bonus" distributed every December, for regular nondisability service retirees under age 50.
Bloomberg's proposal, which is the subject of negotiations with the Municipal Labor Committee and legislators in Albany, would affect only futureofficers, firefighters and other workers not yet hired.
Additional reporting by Perry Chiaramonte
