Legislation Will Ease Pension Costs & Bolster Experience in the Ranks
TRENTON – Senator Paul A. Sarlo announced today that he will introduce legislation that would raise the mandatory State Police retirement age from 55 to 60, provided that troopers continue to meet annual physical requirements.
“In this day and age, with life expectancies dramatically increased, there’s no reason why a healthy 55-year old can’t continue to serve the State Police,” said Sen. Sarlo (D-Bergen, Essex, Passaic). “Raising the retirement age to 60 would not only ease the burden on our pension system, it would also benefit the operations of our State Police to continue to employ troopers with advanced experience and knowledge.”
Sen. Sarlo said his legislation would still allow troopers to be eligible for retirement at 55, but it would not be mandatory until age 60. The legislation is expected to be introduced on Monday.
“This bill would provide a huge savings to our pension system if we were to eliminate five years of pension payments for a good portion of our roughly 3,000 troopers,” added Sen. Sarlo. “Our State Police force has some of the most rigid physical standards of any law enforcement unit out there so most troopers approaching retirement age are not only in great health, but they possess the knowledge and sound judgment that only years of experience can bring. It’s a win-win for our state to reduce costs and preserve seasoned leadership.”
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