Pension Paperwork

Ordinarily, this wouldn't be a big deal.

The WVUE-TV story also raised questions about whether there was a rush to get Serpas into the system before his 50th birthday -- May 9, 2010.

Kathy Bourque, director of the state's Municipal Police Employees Retirement System, told The Times-Picayune that new members cannot join the pension system once they reach the age of 50. But that provision is moot in Serpas' case because he had previously served 20 years with the NOPD, Bourque said.

Without doubt, Serpas' return to New Orleans will have a major effect on his retirement package. Though Serpas' $180,000 salary in New Orleans is less than it was in Nashville, his New Orleans pension is based on a percentage of his three highest-earning years in the city.

If Serpas remains chief for another 18 months, he'll be able to retire and collect an annual payout of at least $144,000. Had Serpas not returned to the NOPD, his highest possible payment would have been about $55,000 annually.

Except it kind of is a big deal because at the same time the Chief of Police is (maybe, possibly) trying to game the pension system (although not gaining much by it), the City Council is demanding that rank-and-file employees contribute more out of their take home pay and changing the way their benefits are calculated.

Under the first proposed ordinance, employee contributions into the New Orleans Employees' Retirement System fund would rise from the current 4 percent of a worker's pay to 5 percent in 2012 and to 6 percent in 2013.

A second ordinance would change the formula used to calculate a retiree's monthly benefits package. Currently, pension payments are based on an average of each member's highest salary over 36 consecutive months of his or her employment. If the ordinance passes, pension payments will be calculated based on the highest 48 months of salary starting in 2014, and the highest 60 months starting in 2015. The result is likely to be lower benefits for many workers.

The Times-Picayune editorial page called these changes a "step in the right direction" and very nearly went full Scott Walker declaring municipal pensions an "unfair and unsustainable" taxpayer subsidy.

Maybe they'd have some sort of argument if everyone were picking up the $144,000 annual that Serpas is on schedule to receive. But we all know Serpas is worth so much more than the rest of these parasites.