1. How many people are getting Metro Nashville pensions, and what are the largest payments?
A: There are almost 10,000 people on the pension rolls, including 10 people who retired 50 years ago or longer.
The average annual pension is a modest $21,000.
While that may seem low, keep in mind these are going to people who are older, many have paid off their mortgages, and may have other income like social security, other savings and retirement accounts AND some may still work other jobs.
There were 68 people who got pensions for $72,000 or higher last year.
The three largest pensions went to former police officers — Michael Robinson collects over $187,000 and Eric Snyder collects $139,000.
2. There are also people double dipping by collecting both a Metro pension and a paycheck? Tell us about that.
A: There are hundreds of people who retired from Metro Nashville, who now collect a pension and went back to work there part time, to collect both a paycheck and a pension.
More than a dozen people make $100,000 or more with their combined pensions and paychecks.
Two people, administrators for the police and water department, each make over $200,000 with combined pensions and paychecks.
Many of the double dippers work for Metro Nashville Police or the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office, which has a program called STEP, or Start Enjoying your Pension, that allows pension-eligible workers to take their pensions and work up to 19.5 hours/week at their hourly rate.
The sheriff’s office says this program saves their budget $5 million annually, and while that may be true, taxpayers are still paying for it, just out of pensions instead of payroll.