September 18, 2019      6:58 PM

Retirees back in court to challenge legislative fix for Dallas police and fire pension fund

Two main points of contention: First, retirees were guaranteed a rate of return, which were reduced in 2014 and then were tied to actuarial tables; second, retirees can no longer take lump-sum payments out of the account

The Dallas Police and Fire Pension Fund faced the second of three possible legal challenges to the fund’s structure in front of the Texas Supreme Court; this one, a direct challenge to the legislature’s solution to keep the fund solvent.

The bill to stabilize the pension fund was carried by Rep. Dan Flynn, R-Canton, and Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, back in 2017. Legal challenges to date have focused on the pension fund’s payments that are deferred to an interest-bearing account, known as a DROP account, when a firefighter or police officer continues to work after the age of retirement.

By Kimberly Reeves

Copyright September 18, 2019, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved