Christie touts big pension payment, targets ‘platinum-level health benefits’ to fund more

Gov. Chris Christie, in his second-to-last budget address, announced the largest pension payment in the state's history — and soundly rejected a constitutional amendment that would force the government to a payment schedule

Instead, Christie championed health benefit reforms he said would bring government workers into the "real world New Jerseyans live in."

"Our non-partisan commission has put forward a plan to save $2 billion on government worker health benefits and use it to save the pension system," he said.

Christie proposed a $1.9 billion pension payment — an increase over last year's $1.3 billion.

Senate President Steve Sweeney’s (D-Thorofare) has proposed requiring quarterly payments into the public employees’ pension system through a constitutional amendment.

Public employee unions have argued the amendment is necessary after Christie made an about-face on a 2011 law he once supported, proscribing specific yearly payments into the pension.

"The constitutional amendment mandates pension payments and places government workers ahead of every other citizen of the state in our state budget," Christie sad in his address Tuesday.

He continued: "Approval of this amendment would place government workers ahead of our students, ahead of our hospitals, ahead of the disabled ahead of our seniors. And the burden of the cost would be put on the backs of the taxpayers."

According to the National Association of State Retirement Administrators, New Jersey's pension system is the most underfunded of all states.

Christie argued the state needs to scale back "platinum-level health benefits" for New Jersey workers to pay for its pensions.

"How out of line are these benefits from the real world every day New Jerseyans live in Take the average government worker who pays $126,000 for their pension and health benefits over 30 years. Their return? $2.4 Million in benefits," he said.

He said through "reasonable reforms such as requiring the use of generic drugs when available, modest increases in co-pays to discourage unnecessary visits, and establishing new delivery methods for primary care services, we can continue to provide quality care, but with important savings." Through those changes, this budget would save $250 million, much of which would be returned to "local governments, school districts, and property taxpayers that fund them," Christie said.

"That’s real property tax relief," Christie said.

Sweeney in December told New Jersey 101.5 the amendment was necessary because “this is not about more reforms. This is about living up to a promise made to the taxpayers of New Jersey, a promise that in 2011 the reforms would deliver a savings of an estimated $121 billion."

Christie has a line-item veto and can reject changes Democrats make to his budget.