THE CITY’S $100G CLUB
470 Hub retirees rake in big bucks
A raft of commissioners, captains, deputies and others account for the 470 city retirees who pull down $100,000-plus in retirement pay, with many others kicking the tires on when they can quit.
The Boston pension payroll, obtained by the Herald, shows 12,700 ex-city workers receiving a monthly check. Former police Commissioner William Gross tops the list at $193,570 a year, but he has company at the top.
The city’s retirement chief also reports that during the pandemic, teachers are asking the most about when can they put down the chalk.
“I’ve had a high number of queries on retirement estimates for educators,” said Timothy Smyth, head of the Boston Retirement System. He added 32 years of working for the city is the “magic number.”
A new cap on retirement earnings is also rolling out with employees, mostly bosses, not allowed to claim 80% of any salary over $185,600. That does not cover employees hired before 2011, allowing them to push the payouts as high as they can until they retire.
The payroll figures show 2,821 retired teachers with three topping $100,000 in retirement; 50 others earn $90,000 or more in annual pension; and 220-plus collect $80,000 and up.
The pension tally also shows 34 substitute teachers, including one with one of the lowest payouts who is still “health (care) eligible,” earn anywhere from $45,000 a year to $6,200.
But unlike the state, Smyth says the city pension obligation will be “fully funded” by 2027.
“We’re financially sound. It goes back to the Menino administration. Mayor (Tom) Menino was always aggressive on paying down the debt,” Smyth said. “He was a pothole guy. He was for clean streets, safe streets and he had good people. We still do.”
The city also has a AAA bond rating, but taxpayers could still feel the pinch this coming year. As the Herald reported last week, the residential tax rate is increasing by 11 cents per thousand dollars as the commercial rate creeps down. Blame the increase on the red-hot housing market.
Property taxes make up about 75% of the city’s revenue.
Samuel Tyler, the president of the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, agrees the city’s pension system is solid. He added covering health insurance in the future is another story.
“That liability exists and it’s growing. It’s not in the same strong position as the pensions,” he told the Herald Monday.
Other big cities across the country are not faring as well, he added. Chicago and Milwaukee, especially, are struggling.
“Chicago’s pension funding levels will remain weak for the foreseeable future,” a new report from S&P Global states.
Milwaukee is floating a sales tax increase to boost the city’s pension system. It could get worse, with a Pension Task Force suggesting “a quarter of the city’s workforce could be let go between 2023 and 2025” as more is funneled into pensions.
There’s something to be said for Menino’s urban mechanic approach to the job. It’s more than just keeping the windows fixed and trash picked up.
‘We’re financially sound. It goes back to the Menino administration. Mayor (Tom) Menino was always aggressive on paying down the debt.’
TIMOTHY SMYTH head of the Boston Retirement System