Calling it a “down payment on responsible government in the next 10 years,” At-large D.C. Councilman David Catania introduced legislation this week that would begin to reform the city’s pension system. The federal government now shares the District’s pension obligations, pitching in most of the roughly $500 million in retirement benefits distributed each year. But the city’s contribution is escalating. In 2007, the city paid $46 million in retirement benefits. In 2010, the District paid $71 million and it’s expected to shell out $130 million this fiscal year.
Catania said pension reform is a “common sense strategy for building defensible budgets going forward.” He said there won’t be immediate savings to help close the projected $600 million budget gap in fiscal year 2012. But, said Catania, the District has “played Santa Claus” by providing lucrative collective bargaining agreements without considering the financial burdens for future generations. The Pension Protection and Sustainability Amendment Act of 2011 could lift some of that weight.
