Michael Kravchuk

The Impacts of the Rhode Island Retirement Security Act of 2011 has caused many negative effects on law enforcement in Rhode Island. I am a law enforcement officer who was directly involved and immediately impacted by these changes. These changes have caused negative impacts on Officers, the cities and towns, and the communities we serve. The mental health of the officers suffered greatly when the changes were made. Officers had lifelong plans based around a pension agreement that was set in place before the RIRSA of 2011 was enacted. These changes caused undue harm on many individuals who were planning on retiring at a certain age. This also influenced movement within the agencies to affect promotions causing Officers to become stagnant within the agencies. This has resulted in younger officers applying to other agencies within and outside the State of Rhode Island as well as private sector employment. When Officers resign, it causes hardship on the town and a disservice to the taxpayers of the community. Departments are short staffed which causes additional stress to Officers which can lead to injuries or lawsuits against the City or Town.

The State should reinstate the pension agreements that were in place before the RIRSA of 2011. The specific change should allow Officers to retire at 20 years at any age. The changes of 2011 were based on the financial status of the State, which is no longer the case. These legislative changes have caused many negative effects on members of the police and fire departments. During a time when hiring and retention are difficult, it is crucial to provide a better/different retirement plan than the neighboring States currently have. A 20-year retirement for Police Fire allows for continuous movement, opportunities for advancement, and increased mental and physical health of Officers. Applicants will look to be hired in Rhode Island as they would be afforded the ability to retire earlier than in neighboring states. Eliminating the age and years of service requirements would also be a benefit to the members. Currently, combining both makes individuals hired at a younger age work more years than an older Officer, even if they got hired on the same date. If necessary, Members of the MERS Police Fire could be allowed to contribute an additional percentage (as discussed with Justice Williams in 2012) to allow members to retire based on what was in place before the enactment of the RIRSA of 2011. If you fail to take care of the state workers, no one will want to take the jobs as we are already witnessing. If these issues are not addressed, things will continue to get worse causing more harm than good for the State.

For all the reasons listed above, I beg you to revisit the pension reform of 2011 and make appropriate changes to help the individuals who dedicate their lives to serving the people of Rhode Island.

Submitted via online webform