The guardian. [volume] (Boston, Mass.) 1901-1960, 1955-07-16

Fl
sets which encourage early
retirement and allow abuses
must be revised before they
wreck the entire system" ac-
cording to James A. Shurtlsff
City Manager Of Medford
This opinion offered at the
fourth annual Governors
Conference at Amherst this
week before some 800 city
town, county, and state offic-
ials found no dissenters.
A resolution was passed un-
animously at the conference
asking the State Legislature
to take immediate Steps to
tighten the, pension laws spe-
officially, the Governors Con
ference voted to support SEN
ate Bill 725 which was filed
BY Senator Philip A. Graham
(R) Of Hamilton.
His bill was seen not as
the whole answer to this in
Evolved and controversial pro-
blenl, but clearly a step in
the right direction" Graham
told the audience of public
officials that he is personally
convinced that the Job can
not be done all at once, but
that specific changes must be
made, one at a time.
To discourage premature
retirement by persons who
more often than not take
jobs in private business, the
Graham bill would cut PEN
sions of disability pensioners
proportionately to the amount
that their outside earnings
exceed the difference between
their pension and the current
salary of the position from
which they retired.
Arthur O'shea, executive
secretary Of Brookline warned
that the state pensions sys-
tenn is establishing "a pension
aristocracy in Massachusetts,. y
AS an extreme case of this
he cited the possibility of a
young man going into the
armed forces at the age of
18. At SO he would retire
and enter the state or munic-
ipal service and earn another
pension. He would still be
young enough to gain private
employment, plus another DO
sible pension and social sec
urity.
II a disabled veteran he
ends up with a tax free fed
eral pension, a noncontribu-
tory city, or state pension
Plus social security.
Before he is through, this
individual costs the taxpayers
more than 100000 for pen
sion rights which are in ad-
dition to- his sarnings.
The extent to which nom
contributory pension charges
have grown in Massachusetts,
was outlined at the confer
ence. In Medford since 1949
costs have increased 17S per
cent for the taxpayers In
Newton costs have gone up
511 per cent in the past 10
years
The average increase, &C
cofding to the Massachusetts,
Federation Of Taxpayers AS
ISOLATION is more than $50
per cent Of this period.
Roy @. Pspalia, selectman
from Watertown, cited ex-
amples of abuses of the pen
sion system. Nearly every Of
fetal from the 19 cities and
SIS towns present offered to
match these examples of alb
uses.
Mr.. Papalia referred to a
| fireman who was assigned to
driving the chiefs car. He
retired on disability for an
alleged injury incurred 20
years earlier but not reported
until five years after the ac-
cident.
This fireman was retired as
totally incapacitated and I'M
able to do his present job of
driving the fire chief. After
being pensioned. He took a
job driving a taxi.
Mr.. Papalia reported a
school teacher who applied
for a disability pension in
September because he said
he expected to be completely
disabled because of a nervous
condition by the following
January"
AS a veteran, he withdrew
his money from the centribu-
tory system with interest and
retired at IS per cent of his
high school pay at the age
of 40. This teacher went to
another state and is running
a boys camp and school, ac-
cording to Mr., Papalia.
A police detective in his late
sos retired because he was
declared totally incapacitated
and unable to carry on his
duties. He is now a private
detective.
The only criticism of the