Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond may be one step closer to getting an early retirement plan for his deputies. After a recent meeting with Hammond, county officials say they plan to hire an actuary to analyze the costs and benefits of a so-called bridge plan.
But retiring early still might cost many officers their health insurance coverage.
Hammond is asking the county to pay an additional 3.5 percent of his $6.9 million payroll so the department can qualify for the state’s bridge plan for police. The program waives early retirement pension penalties for police officers who retire at 55 with at least 25 years of service. And it gives them an extra bump in retirement pay until they qualify for Social Security at 62. The aim is to get senior officers retired early and attract younger, cheaper ones to the force.
An officer being paid $40,000 a year who retired at 55 would get a full pension, plus an extra $625 a month until he or she was 62. The officer’s total pension would be $1,925 a month.
Without the bridge plan, that same officer would get a penalty for retiring early and would receive only $1,000 a month from his or her pension.
The bridge plan has been on Hammond’s wish list for years, but county budget builders have said it was financially risky. This year, the cost would be $241,000, but Hammond’s payroll is bound to rise. Once the plan is started it can be stopped for new hires, but the benefit can’t be taken away from those officers who get it initially.
And Mayor Jim Coppinger last week voiced concern about having to change the county’s post-retirement medical insurance benefits to cover early retiree deputies.
But Hammond said Friday he wasn’t asking the county to change its retirement package.
“When we proposed this, we only wanted to be included in the program. We did not discuss benefits, that’s certainly something that’s negotiable,” Hammond said during the meeting Friday.
County employees who reach 30 years of service at any age get full medical benefits until they are eligible for Medicare at 65. Those who are 60 years old get that benefit after 20 years of service, according to county Human Resources Director Alecia Poe.
So an officer who retires at 55 with 25 years in wouldn’t get any post-retirement health benefits from the county.
That officer could, however, draw retirement and then get another job.
Coppinger, a former fire chief, said he wants to find a way to make the numbers work for the bridge plan, but he wants to make sure officers know what’s being negotiated.
“I’m still antsy about that because we all know how important insurance is, and the fact that they are willing to forgo insurance is a little concerning,” Coppinger said.
Hammond said after the meeting he was pleased to hear the county was open to researching the real costs. And while the program wouldn’t be included in the 2016 budget, once the numbers come out of the actuarial study he would approach the county commission to implement it.
“I think we got the message across, and that is I can’t let this ride for a full year,” Hammond said. “Meanwhile, I’m going to inform each one of the officers so that they know what they would be signing up for.”
Commission Chairman Jim Fields said he couldn’t speak for the entire commission, but he felt the meeting was informative.
“I think it’s best for us to understand the full impact of the bridge plan,” he said.
Contact staff writer Louie Brogdon at lbrog don@timesfreepress.com, @glbrogdoniv on Twitter or at 423-757-6481.