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Senate moves disability-retirement oversight for correction officers to retirement commission
Summary
Senators approved shifting administrative responsibility for correctional officers’ disability-retirement claims from the Office of Policy and Management to the State Employees Retirement Commission, a procedural change intended to reduce backlog and accelerate decisions.
The Connecticut Senate on Jan. 28 approved a resolution to transfer administrative responsibility for disability-retirement reviews for correctional officers from the Office of Policy and Management’s Office of Labor Relations to the State Employees Retirement Commission.
Senator Austin, who identified himself as a former correctional officer during floor remarks, said the change is administrative and intended to streamline processing. "We have a log jam of, number give or take about 7, people who are… who have applied for disability retirement, and the Office of Policy and Management, the Office of Labor Relations does not have the capacity to do this," Senator Austin said.
Under the change described on the floor, the Connecticut State Employees Retirement Commission — a body with employee and management trustees, actuarial trustees and a neutral chair — will assume oversight of disability-retirement determinations for the Department of Correction. Senator Austin said the shift places the matter with the retirement commission and related comptroller offices that routinely handle retirement determinations.
Senator Summers described the move as a streamlining and said it could reduce arbitration costs; other Senators supported placing the item on the consent calendar. The Senate placed the resolution on consent and adopted it.
The measure is administrative; it does not itself create new benefit entitlements, but changes the office responsible for processing and deciding correctional officer disability-retirement claims. Senator Austin and others noted the change is intended to reduce backlog and speed adjudications.
