Governor Chris Christie is under fire for reneging on his 2011 pension legislation that would bring the much underfunded system back above the line.
As of 2002 New Jersey’s pensions were fully funded. But over the last decade the system has been shortchanged, paying on average 38 percent of its actual obligation, according to the National Association of State Retirement Administrators.
And with a record number of retirees, the gap is projected to widen even more.
Although Christie skipped a $3 billion contribution to the fund in 2011, he also passed ambitious legislation that year to make seven extra annual payments to get out of the red, while also raising the age of retirement and reducing health benefits to cover the expense.
But when revenue in the following years missed targets, Christie backed away from his promises to make the extra payments, cutting $2.48 billion for 2014 and 2015. He refused to make payments “that apply to the sins of the past,” ironically, sins he himself committed.
Next year’s budget projection is no exception. Governor Christie is quick to note that his $1.3 billion contribution to the pension fund in 2016 will be the largest payment in history. The only problem is, it’s only half of what he pledged to pay when touting the new reform law back in 2011.
“It’s just creating a run on the bank,” Senate President Stephen Sweeney told Bloomberg in an interview about the newest batch of retirees. “He’s doing everything possible to make it worse.”
Christie is hearing the backlash from all sides. At a town hall speech recently teachers picketed outside, and he got into an argument with the husband of a kindergarten teacher about the pension plan payments and the extension of taxes on wills.
"Nobody wants to give anything up," Christie told the crowd at the VFW Hall in Hasbrouck Heights, referring to his request for even more health benefits to be offered up to cover the rest of the payment.
"That's not the way life works. Only with these folks protesting outside is it different. It's, 'I want it all.’"
Union workers are suing the governor over the issue as well. And on February 23rd, Christie was ordered by state Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobsen to restore the $1.6 billion cut from this year’s payment, a move he and his supporters claim is “liberal judicial activism.”
“The court is unwilling to rely on what has now become a succession of empty promises,” Jacobsen said in her ruling. "In short, the aim of the legislation is not being met.”
This is hardly the only scandal Christie is navigating while in the spotlight as a possible White House contender. Because of the “Bridgegate” scandal around the George Washington Bridge lane closures, his poll ratings have plummeted.
But he told USA Today’s Matt Lauer that although rumors have been heavily circulating around his running for president, he and his wife have not made that decision.
In other words, Christie is wisely waiting until he’s a more likable candidate to offer up his bid.