UL- "25 years instead of 20 to retire?"

Tom Fahey reports in the Union Leader about Senate changes to the state retirement system:

The intent of HB 590 is to have police and firefighters work 25 years instead of the 20-year career the law now requires to receive a full pension, figured at 50 percent of full pay.

When the House passed its plan, it set age 50 as the minimum retirement age. The Senate dropped that while still calling for 25 years of work. It also dropped a House plan to change the pension formula.

The House wanted to limit a pension to half-pay after 25 years of service, the same pension level workers get after 20 years now. The Senate keeps the same formula that is now in place. When it is applied against the full 25 years, the formula gives a retiree nearly 63 percent of pay.