Legislation to Change City Pension Program Introduced in Council

In City Council chambers, Councilman Darrell Clarke just introduced the Nutter administration's legislation that would change the city pension program to provide a lower level of benefits for new hired. Clarke stressed that he was introducing the bill on behalf of the administration.

The proposed plan would combine a traditional pension - at a lower benefit rate than current employees receive - with a 401(k) plan into which workers pay. Because today is the final Council session of the season, the bill could not receive final passage until fall. But if it were to pass, any workers hired after July 1 would be retroactively subject to the terms.

The legislation introduced today is needed to amend city law. But any change to worker pensions would also have to be approved by the city's four municipal unions, whose contracts expire June 30. Union leaders yesterday criticized the proposal.