By John Woolfolk
The San Jose Mercury News
Veteran San Jose Fire Capt. Randy Sekany hung up his helmet in December at the age of 53. But he didn’t leave behind his $100,000-a-year-plus salary. Instead, he joined the ranks of hundreds of former city workers making six-figure sums, with a pension that will pay him $121,510 this year.
He is one of 44 firefighters and police officers who left the city last year alone with six-figure pensions, thanks to a controversial retirement system that is receiving renewed scrutiny. Even as the cash-strapped city cuts services, it is contributing more than ever to shore up the pension fund amid the market meltdown.
Under the system, San Jose’s veteran public safety workers don’t have to be retired for long before their pensions exceed their former salaries. Depending on how long they worked for the city, they can retire with 90 percent of their salaries while receiving guaranteed, 3 percent annual cost-of-living increases — while private-sector workers are seeing their 401(k)s gutted by market losses.
Full story: 18 percent of city’s retired officers and firefighters have six-figure pensions