Miami quietly resurrecting pensions for elected officials

By David Smiley of the Miami Herald

Seven years after shutting down a generous retirement fund for elected officials, the city of Miami is quietly resurrecting pensions for the mayor and city commissioners.

Legislation to revive Miami’s Elected Officials Retirement Trust is expected to go before commissioners in September, the Miami Herald has learned. The proposal is part of Mayor Tomás Regalado’s 2017 budget, mentioned in two vague sentences and buried in a 479-page financial document released this month.

Were the pension plan to reopen as intended, elected officials currently enrolled in 401-type retirement plans would have access to a fund that afforded their predecessors annual pensions worth about triple the average pension earned by Florida teachers.

“Some commissioners asked the administration to look into it, and the administration came back with a plan,” Regalado said when asked why the city would bring back the retirement trust, closed in 2009 during a financial crisis. “I won't tell you who the commissioners are. I don't want to put anybody in a situation of [having to answer] ‘Why are you asking for this?’”

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