The Professional Fire Fighters of New Hampshire (PFFNH) and a coalition of public safety groups are taking their fight to restore lost retirement benefits to court.
The class-action lawsuit, filed Oct. 31 in Merrimack County Superior Court, challenges revisions New Hampshire lawmakers made to the state pension system in 2011 amid fallout from the Great Recession.
“We have been fighting to get these pension benefits back since then because our members should be able to retire with peace and dignity after years of service and sacrifice to their communities,” PFFNH President Brian Ryll said. “The state association will continue to work all angles until this wrong is made right.”
Police, correctional and parole officers have joined the PFFNH in the effort to win back benefits for Group II employees who had less than 10 years of service as of 2012. The action also raised the number of years worked to be eligible for retirement, from 20 to 25.
Legislators said they were forced to make changes because the New Hampshire Retirement System was funded at about 57 percent. However, the system’s financial health has improved over the years.
The PFFNH and coalition members said they exhausted all other paths, leaving legal action as the next logical step. The lawsuit argues that the 2011 pension reform equates to a retroactive law, which violates the state constitution because it alters benefits promised upon hiring.
The state has taken steps to add back benefits, including increasing the pension multiplier and adding $26 million into Tier II, but the coalition says those moves still don’t come close to making those employees whole. Those affected said their retirements have been forcibly delayed and they will retire with smaller pensions.
“The state of New Hampshire’s 2011 pension reform statute, in response to the economic downturn from the Great Recession, is the most egregious overreaction to defined benefit public pensions experienced by any fire fighters across New England,” said Jay Colbert, IAFF 3rd District Vice President. “The 10-year retroactivity of the law appears to be a clear violation of state and U.S. constitutional law, and I commend the PFFNH for signing onto this lawsuit.”
