Letter to the editor: Unfair pension system at county jail

The recent Allegheny County controller’s audit report found that we need 100 more correctional officers at the Allegheny County Jail, and the permanent staff of health care providers at our jail has decreased from 129 in May 2015 to 41 currently. The jail is forced to use temporary health care staff.

Something of an emergent nature needs to be done. The jail’s death rate of its residents is over twice the national average.

The county is refusing to count years of service for a health care employee at our jail for the years worked before 2015 when the county took over. Health care employees who started work in 2000 have lost 15 years of service for their pensions. This is unfair and a major disincentive. The health care staff did not cause the change in employers, yet they are being punished for the change.

For the correctional officers, they will not be able to collect their pension until they are 55. If they started work at 22, their 25 years of service would end at 47, yet they would have to wait eight more years to collect their pension. The life expectancy of our officers is, shockingly, 61. Many officers die before they can collect their pension, and other officers die soon after starting to collect their pension.

Erie County has moved to drop the 55 age requirement altogether and have seen a significant increase in recruiting and retention.

John Kenstowicz

Morningside

The writer works as an advocate to improve living and working conditions at the Allegheny County Jail.