Opinion: Retirees deserve better than politicking with pensions

As someone who spent decades serving the people of New York City – and representing those who risk their lives to protect it – I know firsthand what it means to make sacrifices in the name of public service. Firefighters, police officers, teachers and countless other city workers dedicate their careers to this city with the promise that, in return, their retirement will be secure and honored.

That promise is now at risk – not because of underfunding, mismanagement or fraud – but because of politics. That’s why seven members of the New York City Fire Department sent a letter asking city Comptroller Brad Lander to stop politicking with our pensions.

A group of retirees filed a lawsuit against the New York City Retirement System (Wong v. New York City Employees’ Retirement System) for allowing political considerations to guide investment decisions. The filing claims the NYC Retirement System “breached their fiduciary duties and abused their control over plan assets by divesting the Plans of approximately four billion dollars of holdings in companies involved in the extraction of fossil fuels, in a misguided and ineffectual gesture to address climate change.” And as a union president and pension fund vice chairman, I stand with them.

Retirement systems exist for one reason and one reason only: to deliver the strongest possible returns to retirees. Every dollar earned by these pension funds represents food on the table and dignity maintained for those who gave their working lives to this city. Pensions are not political footballs. They are lifelines that were long promised.

Knowing this, trustees of the city’s two other pension plans – the police and firefighter funds – said after the meeting that they would not divest, and that doing so would be a dereliction of their fiduciary duties. On the issue of fossil fuel divestment, Uniformed Firefighters Association President Andrew Ansbro said, “We do not see our pension fund as an object to be used to make political statements. Our job is to provide for our retirees.”

The idea that investment decisions should be influenced by a particular agenda – no matter which side of the aisle it’s coming from – is deeply misguided. When fiduciaries are no longer making decisions based on maximizing returns, they’re putting our pensions at risk.

This is not theoretical. We’re talking about billions of dollars managed on behalf of all of our public employees that help keep our city moving – police officers, sanitation workers, EMTs, transit employees, and firefighters. For these retirees, a half-percentage point in annual return isn’t just a number – it’s the difference between security and struggle. In a time when retirement security and confidence are already at crisis levels, we can’t create any more retirement hardships.

Our pension systems should reflect the pragmatic attitude many New Yorkers pride themselves on. If there’s a compelling financial reason to invest in, or divest from, a company or sector, that’s worth a discussion. But any decision rooted in politics rather than performance is a betrayal of the promise made to the men and women who served this city.

Public servants didn’t sign up for political activism, nor did they agree to their pensions being used as pawns. This lawsuit is not about ideology. It’s about accountability. It’s about ensuring politics – no matter how well-intentioned – remains out of the boardroom when it comes to managing our pensions. Let elected officials debate policy. Let fund managers deliver returns.

That’s the only way to honor the promise made to New York’s finest – and to every worker who gave or continues to give our city their all.