(The Center Square) — A group representing police, fire and other first-responder pensioners is suing New Hampshire’s retirement system, claiming they’ve been unconstitutionally denied benefits.
The lawsuit, filed by the New Hampshire Group II Retirement Coalition on behalf of several retirees, alleges that changes to the pension formula pushed through the state Legislature in 2011 deprived police officers, firefighters and other first responders of the pension benefits they were promised before the changes.
The retirees, who include police officers, firefighters and correctional officers, ask the court to adjust their retirement benefits to meet the calculations they were told they would receive when they were hired, claiming the “after-the-fact” changes to the retirement system violated their constitutional rights.
Seifu Ragassa, the president of the New Hampshire Group II Retirement Coalition, said the legal challenge is “the culmination of years of effort to correct the wrongs inflicted upon New Hampshire’s first responders – the guardians and caretakers of our communities.”
“We have exhausted legislative channels and have attempted negotiations, but the state continues to turn a blind eye to the plight of its most dedicated public servants,” he said in a statement. “Now, we are taking legal action to ensure fairness and justice.”
Lawmakers overhauled the state retirement system in 2011 in the wake of the recession as part of broader efforts to whittle down a $4.3 billion unfunded liability in the benefit pay-out obligations it had to employees. The move affected about 1,800 state employees who had been on the job for less than 10 years. Many were faced with higher contributions and less benefits as a result of the changes, the coalition alleges.
The Professional Fire Fighters of New Hampshire filed a lawsuit to block the changes, but the New Hampshire Supreme Court sided with the state in a unanimous 2014 ruling that increases can be made in employee contribution rates for all employees, regardless of how long they have been working.
In July, Gov. Chris Sununu signed a bill to change the percentage used to determine a state retiree’s benefits. Last week, Sununu announced that a one-time payment of $26 million was made into the Group II retirement system, which he called a “big investment” to retain and recruit first responders. But the retirement coalition said the payment amounted to only 1% of what they’re owed under state law.
New Hampshire’s retirement system has about 50,000 active members and 43,500 pensioners. The state government and more than 460 local government employers participate in the system for their employees, teachers, firefighters and police officers.
The retirement system’s unaudited trust fund assets stood at $12.2 billion at the close of the fiscal year 2024, an increase of approximately $700 million from the prior fiscal year, or a nearly 9% return on its investment, the agency noted in a recent report.
