PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City Council is urgently looking to get retired bus drivers the pensions they deserve.

 

On Tuesday, the City Council passed a home rule petition, which needs to be approved by the state Legislature, to give retired bus drivers and attendants post-employment benefits.

 

The move comes right as some retirees are seeing a cut in benefits, sometimes 30 percent or more.

 

"It is a hope to get this rectified by the end of the year," said Council President Peter Marchetti.

 

The urgency is high and after approving the petition, Marchetti called for a recess to sign and then pass the paperwork onto state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier to take to Boston in the morning.

 

According to Marchetti, the issue arose following an audit from the Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission, which ruled retired bus drivers are only eligible for pensions based on 21.25 hours a week, despite how many hours they worked or paid into the system.

 

"Currently, the issue that has caused this problem is the language in the bus driver's contract," Marchetti said.

 

The contract guarantees that drivers receive 21.25 hours but most work more than that and have been paying into the pension system based on the hours actually worked. In 2015, the Retirement Board was audited and the state ruled that the drivers were only eligible for pensions based on 21.25 hours per week. The city appealed it but lost.

 

"All of the school bus drivers have filed their own appeal," Marchetti said.

 

Marchetti said the problem was an "unintended consequence" related to the state's 2009 pension reform. Recently, retirees were seeing drops in pension checks by more a quarter. Retiree Alan Zaiken said he worked for nearly 40 years for the School Department and just recently saw his checks drop by more than $600.

 

Marchetti said for some the loss could be in the $8,000 range.

 

The home rule petition, once approved by the Legislature, will now cover the dozen or so retirees or soon to be retirees, giving them the pensions based on the money and hours the workers actually put in. 

 

The bus drivers and the attendants are hardworking people who come to work every day," said Councilor At Large Kathleen Amuso, who used to serve on the School Committee. "They have come to work and done what we've asked them to do for decades."

 

Superintendent of Schools Jason McCandless said there is language in the next contract with the bus drivers that rectifies the issues for the years to come. Those who will still be working for the city or will be newly hired will fall under the new contract which gives the drivers and attendants what they put into the system, and not one based on the lower number of hours.

 

"We will have this problem solved for current employees," McCandless said.

 

The state's ruling basically said that the extra hours above 21.25 were considered extra and not part of the pension program. But Marchetti says the drivers have already been paying in for the full amount.

 

"They have already been paying into the retirement system based on the hours they worked," Marchetti said. "It is not like it is a gift. We are allowing them to receive the monies they have been paying in."

 

Marchetti added that it will have no additional cost to the city. But, the urgency is important because otherwise, it could take some three years for the driver's appeals to be completed - too long for them to go at the lower level of checks, Marchetti said.