His pension, new salary and travel benefits made his choice easy because he wants to move to Florida and still be able to visit his kids in New York. However, he worried about the talent vacuum as veterans leave. I don't think the department has done anything to keep any of us. Critics say the department has done nothing to counter all these forces draining its best and brightest. Under DROP, an officer locks in his pension but postpones collecting it while continuing to work for a few extra years.
Advocates say the city benefits by keeping the experienced officer on the payroll.
The officer's carrot is that his yearly retirement benefit accumulates over those extra years, giving him a six-figure lump payment when he finally does leave. Tom Antenen, spokesman for Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, said the department is studying the DROP plan. Antenen also questioned the notion that morale is plummeting. Since Kerik took over in August, he has held informal sessions with officers to hear their take on the job. To make matters worse for the NYPD, three state laws passed this year make retirement even more alluring, said Joseph Maccone, the pension consultant with the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association.