Robert Quinn has technically been retired since May 1, 2010.
But for the last six years, he’s continued to work on Hazen Drive at one of the top law enforcement jobs in the state of New Hampshire.
Since his appointment as the director of state police in 2010, Quinn, who is 55, has collected nearly $1.3 million in salary along with his pension from the New Hampshire Retirement System. While working this full-time job, he collected $594,000 from the retirement system, nearly $8,000 every month, and $697,000 in salary.
Now, he’s received a promotion and a raise after Gov. Maggie Hassan nominated him in August to fill one of the two Department of Safety assistant commissioner posts created in 2015.
In his new position, just like his last one, it’s up to Quinn whether he will continue to contribute to the retirement system like most full-time state workers, or collect a pension on top of his salary. That’s because both jobs are for a fixed amount of time – usually three-year stints – that require confirmation from the Executive Council.
Now, the man appointed to replace him as the director of state police, Capt. Christopher Wagner, will have the same choice if the Executive Council approves his appointment today.
If approved, Wagner will make $107,377 as the new head of state police. And he stands to earn a pension greater than Quinn, as Wagner made $113,313 last year.
And if he retires, he will get a massive payout for unused sick and vacation time, which will also be calculated into his lifetime retirement benefit. For Quinn, his payout in 2010 on top of his salary and pension was $55,175.
In August, the Executive Council, including the two candidates for governor, Republican Chris Sununu and Democrat Colin Van Ostern, approved Quinn and his new $119,105 annual salary. His term will be up again in 2019. By then, he will have earned nearly $2 million since retiring.
Everything that’s been done is perfectly legal, but it looks bad.
As officials with the New Hampshire Retirement System explain, it looks bad because everyday working people with their average 401k plans don’t have that kind of option. They don’t get to retire in their 40s and make a six-figure salary for five, 10 or even 20 years longer.
It looks bad as the Legislature has been trying to limit the amount of double-dipping in the state by lowering the threshold for part-time employees to 32 hours. But the director of state police and the assistant commissioner of the Department of Safety aren’t bound by those rules.
It looks bad because every other community in the state has to pay more to fill the hole left by double-dippers and their lack of contributions back into the system.
“Every one of them is a little drip and then the flow gets faster and the bucket drains quicker,” NHRS spokesman Marty Karlon said. “Everyone else has to pay a little bit more.”
And we’re talking about large sums of money taxpayers are forced to pay into the system. In fiscal year 2015, Concord paid $4.6 million into the retirement system, in a year when the total general fund budget was $55 million. Of that amount, about 20 percent goes to the retirement benefits of current employees, and the other 80 percent goes to fill the system’s $4 billion unfunded liability.
And the costs for towns, cities and school districts are only going up. The unfunded liability isn’t expected to be settled until 2039.
Even though these big-money double-dippers represent a tiny fraction of all retirees, “it looks bad on the retirement system as a whole,” Karlon said.
Fiscal conservatives in the state are against double-dipping because it accelerates the drain on the retirement system.
Even unions, including the Professional Fire Fighters of New Hampshire, which endorsed Hassan in her race for U.S. Senate, are against the practice because it limits the ability of younger workers to reach top jobs.
But Hassan says it’s about appointing the best person for the job.
“The governor’s personnel decisions are based on who she believes is best qualified to serve the people of New Hampshire in that particular role,” spokesman William Hinkle said.
As for allowing employees in high-profile positions to retire and collect a salary, that’s not Hassan’s decision, Hinkle said.
“State law governs who must participate in the retirement system and the Legislature has exempted certain appointed individuals from participation in the retirement system because they have recognized the importance of being able to consider highly qualified individuals with New Hampshire experience, particularly for critical public safety positions,” Hinkle said.
How the next governor will vote will be determined today.
“The State of New Hampshire has taken steps and should continue to take steps to limit the amount of double-dipping amongst the state’s workforce,” Sununu said in a statement Tuesday. “Double-dipping limits the amount of upwards mobility in our employment structure and costs the state money in the long-run. There are certain situations, though, where exceptions might be appropriate given an individual’s background and expertise for the position being sought.”
Sununu and Van Ostern both steered clear of any comments about Quinn or Wagner, and neither addressed raising the retirement age or changing gubernatorial appointments to unlimited terms, two different ways to limit the state’s highest-paid employees from collecting a pension and a salary.
“To keep our communities safe and ensure a sustainable retirement system, I believe that the state should ensure we meet three goals,” Van Ostern said in a statement. “First, hire the best, most qualified people for the job without excluding experts who have served N.H. cities or towns previously simply to give preference to out-of-state applicants; second, we must fully honor retirement benefits promised to N.H. employees; and third, we should explore ways to strengthen the system that protect taxpayers from downshifting costs to local communities or stretching the retirement system too thin.”
(Jonathan Van Fleet can be reached at 369-3303 or jvanfleet@cmonitor.com.)