OPINION: Not all public safety employees want defined-benefit pensions

You may have read recent commentaries in the ADN that have made claims about what it means to support public safety. All too often, what gets lost in the discussion are the voices of actual public safety workers. Most of the time, those public safety workers are restricted from speaking out publicly about political issues, and they have a strong desire to remain neutral and above the fray of partisanship. But there should be no mistake that there are issues that impact public safety workers such as police officers both positively and negatively. Unfortunately, the union bosses who claim to speak on behalf of the officers are so intertwined with partisan political allegiances and special interests that they often no longer make an attempt to reflect the views of their membership.

The discussion about defined benefits in Alaska is one of the best examples of how union bosses simply ignore the best interests of their membership. The bosses ignore their members who value the economic freedom and ownership that defined-contribution plans provide. The mobility provided by the defined-contribution plans allows for career growth opportunities. The union bosses simply don’t acknowledge how portable retirement plans that are owned by the employee allow them to take hundreds of thousands of dollars with them when they make life choices that benefit them personally. These types of plans benefited private sector workers beginning decades ago, and unfortunately, government workers were left behind. The union bosses ignore the fact that the state of Alaska, taxpayers and all government workers deserve economic freedom that comes with a cost-specific retirement system that allows individuals to build wealth and provide income for retirement. This approach of allowing individuals to take personal responsibility instead of saddling taxpayers with unfunded liabilities benefits both the taxpayer and the individual with the retirement plan.

Why do the union bosses continually advocate for an outdated government-based system of retirement benefits? They constantly talk about retention and the cost of training and turnover. But police departments across the country all are facing severe manpower shortages and recruiting challenges. Most of those departments have outdated pension systems that Alaska has fortunately left behind. The union bosses want to prevent their members from leaving with hundreds of thousands of dollars and instead handcuff them to jobs that may no longer fit in their family life. And other departments have shown that those handcuffs don’t work anyway in retention efforts.

My interest and expertise on this topic comes from a unique perspective and life experience. I “retired” from a 20-year Wall Street career and became a police officer to serve the community I love. I served clients and help many transition from old-style pension plans to lucrative, wealth-building personal 401(k) accounts. Millions of working class Americans have benefited from being part of this wealth-building investor mindset instead of relying on the government to provide for when you retire. Our current Alaska system takes a mandatory 13% of my gross salary that is contributed to my personal account. The required contributions are invested in prudent long-term investments, which prevent risky gambles of critical retirement benefits. This 13% is only the beginning of the opportunity for me and my coworkers to make other retirement contributions that are also matched.

My union has repeatedly attacked and vilified me for standing up for my coworkers. I have been elected as a union board member twice. I won a recall election that was initiated because I dared to challenge the union bosses on defined benefits. The union has done everything possible to silence me because I refuse to go along and support the union’s positions that hurt the membership. I implore you to talk to your friend or neighbor who happens to be a police officer. You should know that the union bosses consistently ignore their members and will not allow them to weigh in when the unions make political decisions.

Christopher Wright is a senior patrol officer with the Anchorage Police Department and speaks on behalf of himself only. He is an elected executive board member of the Anchorage Police Department Employees Association. Wright has been a police officer for almost seven years after a 20-year career in investment management.

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