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Longevity pay and retirement

Longevity pay and retirement
Tooley v McCall, Appellate Division, 252 A.D.2d 794

Lowell J. Tooley retired from the Village of Scarsdale after forty years of service. In the course of the three years preceding his retirement the Village paid Tooley about $80,000 under an ?enhanced compensation plan? [ECP] in addition to his regular salary. The Village described its ECP payments to Tooley as longevity pay and provided for an increase of about 80% over Tooley?s regular salary.

The Comptroller declined to include the amount paid to Tooley under the ECP in determining his retirement allowance. Tooley sued but the Appellate Division sustained the Comptroller?s decision. The Court said that ?retirement benefits are to be computed on the basis of an employee?s regular salary and not on any kind of termination pay or other form of additional compensation paid in anticipation of retirement.?

The Appellate Division found it significant that the Village had instituted the ECP after Tooley had attained age 67 and that the only payments made under the plan were made during the three-year period immediately preceding Tooley?s retirement.

Full post as published by New York Public Personnel Law on September 21, 2009 (boomark / email).