(TRENTON) - Deputy Majority Leader Reed Gusciora (D-Princeton) commended the Governor on Tuesday for agreeing to make the state’s required $506 million payment to the pension fund by Fiscal Year 2012.    

“I am very glad to hear that Governor Christie intends to honor the law by making the required pension payment,” said Gusciora.  “As part of the terms and conditions of public employment, public employees have been paying into the pension fund, and it’s about time the state meets its legal obligation to pay.  Working New Jerseyians have kept their end of the bargain, and now the state must do the same.”  

Currently, New Jersey’s pension system is underfunded by almost $54 billion dollars.  Failure of the state to make its full contributions to the pension fund, while skipping its payments over the last decade, has led to the current solvency crisis.  

Though Assemblyman Gusciora is pleased that Governor Christie intends on making the state’s payment, he disagrees that this payment need be contingent on changes to the pension system.  The Governor has indicated that the Legislature must approve certain changes by June 30th for the state to make its payment.  Such changes proposed include raising the retirement age and requiring workers to pay a higher percentage toward their pension.

In this regard, Assemblyman Gusciora has introduced Assembly Bill 3928, which requires the state to pay its full contribution to the state administered pension system including an additional $300 million annually until the system is fully funded. 

“There should be no strings attached to the Governor’s agreement to fulfill the state’s legal requirement,” Gusciora concluded.  “To attract the most qualified candidates for public employment, the state must prove that it is able to honor its agreement without punishing its employees.  It is not the fault of public workers that both Democratic and Republican administrations have been fiscally irresponsible.”

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