Scranton’s police, fire disability rates remain high despite reforms

June 24--The number of Scranton police officers awarded disability pensions in the last four years drastically outpaced other Pennsylvania municipalities with similarly sized police departments, a Sunday Times analysis found.

From January 2014 through February 2018, 13 Scranton police officers retired. Nine, or 69.2 percent, were approved to receive disability pensions, the newspaper found. The department had 144 active officers as of January 2017.

Disability rates in Lancaster, York, Harrisburg, Bethlehem and Wilkes-Barre, which have police departments ranging from 80 to 149 active officers, were far less in the same time frame.

Lancaster granted disability pensions to 3.2 percent of its police retirees; York, 5.6 percent; Harrisburg, 10.7 percent; Bethlehem, 11.5 percent; and Wilkes-Barre, 27.3 percent.

The disability rate for Scranton's Fire Department was significantly lower than its police. Of the 19 city firefighters who retired, three, or 15.8 percent, received disability pensions. The department, which had 124 active members as of January 2017, is the largest of the other five municipalities the newspaper analyzed.

Scranton's firefighter disability rate is less than Wilkes-Barre's, which had 70 active members and granted disability pensions to three of its eight retirees, or 37.5 percent. However, it exceeds Bethlehem, which granted a disability pension to one of its 21 retirees, or 4.8 percent, and York, Harrisburg and Lancaster, none of which granted any disability pensions. Those departments had 53 to 108 active members.

The disability pension figures reflect a trend first identified in a 2014 Sunday Times investigation that found Scranton had the highest percentage of police officers and firefighters receiving disability pensions in the state in 2012 for plans with at least 10 retirees.

'Not encouraging'

The high disability rate contributed greatly to the poor financial condition of the police and fire funds, which remained severely financially distressed as of last year. The funds' financial health improved dramatically in the past two years partly because of strong investment returns and a significant increase in contributions from the city and employees.

The pending deposit of $10.3 million into each fund from the city's sale of the sewer system to Pennsylvania American Water Co. should lift the police fund to a moderately distressed status, assuming assets remain stable. The fire fund will remain severely distressed, but it is in much better financial condition than it has been in years.

City officials say the improvement is welcome news, but the continued high rate of disability pensions is a major concern because it can significantly impact the funds' health if employees retire before they qualify for a regular, length-of-service pension.

"That's not encouraging to say the least," Councilman Wayne Evans said of the newspaper's findings. "It's certainly not trending the way we thought it would."

Aging problem

The police department's disability rate is particularly troubling because all but one of the nine disability retirees were short of the age and years of service required to qualify for a regular pension. The police and fire pension plans each require employees hired after June 30, 1987, to be age 55 with 25 years of service, while those hired before that date must serve 25 years, with no minimum age.

Scranton's disability pension pays the same as a regular pension -- 50 percent of the final year's base salary -- so there is no negative financial impact to the funds if an employee who reaches normal retirement age and years of service goes out on a disability pension instead of a regular pension. The financial harm comes from those who retire early because the plans begin paying out benefits much sooner than expected. The earlier an employee retires, the bigger the financial hit to the plans.

The nine police retirees on disability pensions had an average age of 46.8 years with 21.2 years of service, the newspaper found. Of the eight who did not qualify for a regular pension, three were in their mid to late 30s and served between nine and 15 years on the force; three were in their late 40s and served 23 to 27 years and two were in their early 50s and served 20 and 25 years.

Randee Sekol, the plan's actuary, warned the composite pension board last year that the high police disability rate threatened the fund's viability.

"This is going to kill this plan," Sekol told the board at its May 2017 meeting.

In contrast to the police department, the disability pensions awarded to firefighters will not negatively impact the fire fund because all three retirees met the age and years of service required to receive a normal pension.

John Judge, president of the fire pension board, noted the three disability pension retirees actually helped the fund's financial condition because they stayed well beyond the required age and years of service. Two were 60 years old with 30 and 36 years of service; the other was 59 with 29 years of service.

At a loss

City and police union officials say they are at a loss to explain why the disability rates remain so high.

The newspaper's review of policies shows Scranton's standard in evaluating cases is in line with other municipalities. Scranton's disability pension also is no more generous and is, in some cases, less generous than other municipalities. For instance, Erie pays disabled officers 75 percent of their average monthly wage for a disability pension, compared to 50 percent for a regular retiree.

Paul Helring, president of the police union and member of the police pension board, said the board carefully reviews each request. All of the applicants approved in the last four years were justified by medical records.

The newspaper was unable to review medical records because of privacy laws. A review of meeting minutes shows the pension boards followed the process in seeking medical evidence for each retiree.

"I know the disability rate sounds bad, but if you can't do the job ... we can't go against the doctor's professional opinion," Helring said.

Dangerous profession

Police Chief Carl Graziano noted there is a big difference between a career-ending injury for the average person compared to police officers. A knee problem won't necessarily prevent a clerical employee from working. For a police officer who has to chase suspects and be able to shoot from a kneeling position, it's a big issue, he said.

"It's a dangerous profession," Graziano said. "Whether it be wrestling with a suspect or getting in a car crash, they get injured. It seems like it's almost every day that happens."

Helring said he believes the lower disability rates in other communities may partly be related to their lower age and/or years of service needed to qualify for a normal retirement.

"The older you get, the more the chance of injury," Helring said.

Erie and Wilkes-Barre allow officers to retire at age 50 with 20 years and 25 years of service, respectively, the newspaper found. Harrisburg grants a normal retirement at age 50, with no minimum years of service, while Bethlehem allows officers to retire after 20 years of service, regardless of age. York police must serve 20 years and be age 55 if hired after 2015. There is no age requirement for officers hired before 2015.

Pension reform on horizon

City and union officials say they remain committed to efforts to reduce the number of disability pensions. The police and fire unions agreed in 2015 to change the process by which disability pensions are awarded and to the appointment of a third-party administrator to oversee the process.

Implementing those changes was delayed while the city dealt with other pressing matters, including finalizing the sale of its sewer system and the settlement of the 2011 state Supreme Court back pay award to police officers and firefighters.

"It's been a lengthy process," said city solicitor Jessica Eskra. "We struggled out of the gate with the third-party administrator, but we are moving forward in enacting pension reforms as soon as possible."

The composite pension board hired a third-party administrator in November. VocRehab Inc. of Scranton now oversees the new process, which requires a single medical specialist independent of the city and police and fire unions to examine applicants. Previously, one doctor for the city and one chosen by the employee evaluated applicants. If the doctors disagreed, a physician chosen by the pension board would evaluate the employee.

The city also implemented other programs to help reduce the chance of injuries that could lead to a disability pension, including establishing a safety committee to update safety practices, training and equipment in all departments. Police officers and firefighters now undergo fitness for duty examinations that help identify issues early so employees can get treatment and prevent it from turning into career-ending injuries.

"If a supervisor sees an officer is struggling, we send them for a fitness for duty examination," Graziano said. "We've done conditioning to get them back to physical fitness."

Judge said he is encouraged by the changes the city made, which also include a more rigorous pre-employment screening for firefighters.

"If we can detect stuff earlier and make corrections earlier, it's better for the city and it's better for the employee," Judge said. "We are developing a workforce that will be able to last the rigors of 25 years."

Helring said he believes the city's decision to reinstate health care benefits for police officers and firefighters in contracts signed in 2015 will help reduce the number of disability pensions because it encourages employees to work harder to recover from an injury and stay on the job.

"That's an incentive to stay even if your back is killing you or your knee is killing you," Helring said. "You gotta come to work if you want that incentive when you retire. That will keep a lot of guys here and prevent disability pensions, which is the goal."

City and union officials caution it will take time before any real benefits are achieved.

"It took a while to get to that point. It is going to take a while to roll back," Evans said. "We are doing all the right things. We just have to keep doing them. Hopefully some day they will pay dividends."

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