Reforms Take Aim at State Pension System

Starting this month, new state government hires will have to work to an older age to receive full pension and cannot pad their salaries during their final years to up their retirement benefits.

Before the law that was passed in November 2011 and went into effect this month, state workers could retire after 10 years of service and get a full pension. A Boston Herald review found that thousands of government employees, many not even 50 years old, did just that. 

According to the Herald, 475 state workers retired in their 40s or before, and 19,650 retired before they hit 60.

And some of them are making good money as a pensioner. As many as 212 receive at least $100,000 a year and five make more than $200,000. The highest-paid pensioner gets $20,000 a month, according to the Herald. 

Even if state employees are making less than these lofty amounts, the cost to taxpayers adds up over decades. There are former state employees who retired in the late 1950s and are still getting a pension, the Herald reports.

Though the reforms will save the state money over the long run, all employees who were hired before the law passed will be grandfathered in to the old system.