Gov. Christie At Town Hall Meeting: 'We Can No Longer Afford Defined Benefit Pension Systems'
By Cleve Bryan
MOORESTOWN, N.J. (CBS) -- In his first town hall meeting since last August, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie described public pension liabilities as an unfunded problem that could reach disaster status in less than a decade.
Christie's 128th Town Hall at the Moorestown Recreation Center included a rundown of proposed pension reforms he says form a "roadmap" that political opponent the New Jersey Education Association has agreed to start negotiating.
"We're not going to solve this by yelling and screaming at each other, we're going to solve this by working together," Christie said in a gymnasium filled with several hundred people in Republican-heavy Burlington County.
The benefit reform "roadmap" includes:
Freezing existing pension plans and replacing them with other retirement plans like 401k's
Transferring control of pension funds into the hands of union officials
A constitutional amendment that outlines how much the state pays towards pensions each year
Negotiating more cost-saving measures in public healthcare plans
"It makes sure that the pensions that have been promised to people are going to be paid to people, but for new folks, they have to have a plan that is competitive like the private sector – some type of cash balance 401k type plan. We can no longer afford defined benefit pension systems," says Christie.
