New Denver city employees won’t get to retire with full pensions until they are at least 60 years old after a final vote Monday by the City Council that changed parts of the city’s retirement system.
Once the entire workforce is covered by the new plan, it will save the city up to $8.5 million annually in 2011 dollars, according to city officials.
The crux of the change is the discontinuation of the “Rule of 75,” which allowed employees to retire with full pensions by age 55 with 20 years of experience. Current employees will still be under the old formula.
But people hired after July 1 will be under the new rule of “Rule of 85,” meaning to receive a full pension they would have to retire after age 60 with at least 25 years of experience.
City Council members had wrestled over the decision in previous meetings, with some saying they worried the city’s benefit system would not be as attractive to potential workers.
They feared the city wouldn’t be able to compete with the private sector.
But on Monday, no council member called out the ordinance for discussion, leaving it to pass unanimously in a block vote on final reading.
Steve Hutt, director of the Denver Employees Retirement Plan, lauded the council’s decision.
“Cutting pension benefits, even just for new hires, is nobody’s first choice, but these changes really are modest and prudent,” Hutt said. “I’m pleased that we got this done via the collaborative effort of three mayors, an eventually unanimous City Council and the retirement board.”
Jeremy P. Meyer: 303-954-1367 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com
