The Dallas Police and Fire Pension Fund halts all withdrawals from the fund as too many people were trying to get their share of the pension before the pension was out of money. This announcement came after $500 million had been withdrawn from the fund since August. Dallas police report that many officers have resigned over the past few months because of the problem with the pension fund.
A few days ago we noted that the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System (DPFP) took the unprecedented step of halting withdrawals from their DROP fund after a “run on the bank” pushed to the entire pension system, and the City of Dallas, to the brink of liquidity crisis (see “In Unprecedented Move, Dallas Pension System Suspends Withdrawals“). Now, a local CBS affiliate in Dallas is reporting that the pension crisis is driving a massive surge in police resignations.
Interim Dallas Police Chief David Pughes told city council members Monday that 99 officers have left the department since October 1.
City councilman Philip Kingston is among those who blame the situation on the cash-starved police and fire pension fund.
“It’s concerning, but it’s not very surprising with the turmoil surrounding the pension system,” said Kingston.
In a statement, Mayor Mike Rawlings said, “This is why we are working so hard to address our pension crisis.”
The Dallas Police Association said in any given year, about 180 officers leave the department — either to retire or work at higher-paying departments.
About half the number have left in a two and a half month period.
Of course, not surprisingly, the majority of the resignations came from older, tenured officers who had the most to lose.
“I think most of those 99 were tenured officers, so those are our most experienced officers, the majority investigative detectives who solve crimes everyday,” said Mata.
Councilman Kingston acknowledges the department’s challenge. “I think Chief Pughes is going to have to be creative. There’s nothing we can do to fix that in the short term. He has the number of officers he has and he has got to get results using those officers.”
Via Zero Hedge