Allegheny County Controller Corey O’Connor will seek a declaratory judgment compelling the Retirement Board of Allegheny County to end the inclusion of discretionary bonuses as pensionable wages, saying this worsens the financial condition of the County’s pension fund.

“The Allegheny County Retirement System is in poor financial condition, and we need to start making decisions that protect our retirees, taxpayers, and the County’s fiscal health,” said County Controller O’Connor. “We simply cannot commit to the same approaches that are bankrupting the Fund and imperiling the futures of thousands of County employees.”

At issue is whether bonus payments are pensionable or one-time benefits. “Bonuses are not the problem—they are just not pensionable,” said O’Connor. “The bonuses we’re seeing are discretionary, exceed the contributions and benefits of most other County employees, and exacerbate the Pension Fund’s insolvency.”

Presently, the System is only 31 percent funded and actuarial estimates project the Fund will be depleted by 2037. That’s when the County will be unable to pay out benefits to retirees who have dedicated decades of service to Allegheny County.

Jack Exler, president of the Allegheny County Retirees Association, issued the following statement: “The Board of the Allegheny County Retirees’ Association, on behalf of the retired members of the County Pension Plan, express our deep concern over the impact of including bonuses awarded to Airport Authority personnel in the calculation of the amount of monthly County pension that will be paid to Authority employees participating in the County pension plan. We strongly support the position of the County Controller that the bonuses are not appropriate for inclusion in the calculation.”

As the County’s chief fiscal officer, O’Connor noted that “while ending such practices will not fix everything, it is the first step to empower the Retirement Board, protect our employees, and improve the County’s fiscal health.”

“Doing business as usual is unacceptable. Credit rating agencies have already flagged our pension as a potential reason to downgrade our credit rating, which would have significant downstream effects on our County’s economic, development, and fiscal operations,” said O’Connor. “Simply put, we cannot afford to make a serious problem worse.”