Retirees, the Young and the Wealthy
The two categories listed in the title of this post are meant to be separate. From some folks’ point of view, Rhode Island’s retirees are both young and wealthy, as a group, but with this post, my intention is to take a look at age at retirement and the dollar amount of gross pensions as separate topics.
Regarding the first, the average retirement age of the 26,598 included in the database that the Employees’ Retirement System of Rhode Island (ERSRI) provided to RIOpenGov.org was 58 — with an average gross pension of $33,388 and years retired of 13. Of course, different careers tend to come to retirement at different ages, and Rhode Island’s many public employers vary in their generosity.
As is to be expected, police, fire, and rescue departments lead the list of youngest retirees, with the following top 20:
|
Top 20 Rhode Island Police, Fire, & Rescue
Departments by Age at Retirement |
||||
| Number of Retirees | Average Age at Retirement | Average Gross Pension ($) | Average Years Retired | |
| Harris Fire & Light Dist. | 1 | 30 | 24,345 | 12 |
| Hopkins Hill Fire Dept. | 1 | 42 | 20,829 | 2 |
| Richmond Police Dept. | 1 | 42 | 26,392 | 9 |
| Woonsocket Fire Dept. | 12 | 42 | 25,378 | 5 |
| Cranston Police | 8 | 43 | 41,956 | 6 |
| Woonsocket Police Dept. | 52 | 44 | 32,490 | 5 |
| Cumberland Rescue | 4 | 44 | 20,003 | 7 |
| Smithfield Police Dept. | 3 | 44 | 24,232 | 13 |
| New Shoreham Police Dept. | 2 | 45 | 36,762 | 6 |
| Cranston Fire | 5 | 46 | 39,192 | 3 |
| Lincoln Rescue | 6 | 46 | 20,556 | 6 |
| Washington Fire District | 1 | 46 | 30,622 | 11 |
| State Police | 4 | 46 | 63,501 | 6 |
| Coventry Fire Dist. | 7 | 46 | 33,822 | 6 |
| Johnston Firefighters | 2 | 47 | 35,981 | 4 |
| Charlestown Police Dept. | 11 | 47 | 32,858 | 9 |
| North Smithfield Fire & Rescue Services | 5 | 47 | 31,819 | 7 |
| Tiogue Fire Dist. | 2 | 48 | 19,216 | 18 |
| Burrillville Police Dept. | 9 | 48 | 28,660 | 14 |
| North Kingstown Police Dept. | 30 | 48 | 33,592 | 8 |
Teachers begin retiring a few years later:
|
Top 20 Rhode Island Teacher Groups by
Age at Retirement |
||||
|
Number of Retirees
|
Average Age at Retirement
|
Average Gross Pension ($)
|
Average Years Retired
|
|
| BEACON Charter School of Woonsocket |
1
|
52
|
38,954
|
12
|
| Charlestown Teachers |
2
|
55
|
15,954
|
30
|
| Johnston School Dept. |
215
|
55
|
43,505
|
13
|
| Tiverton School Dept. |
161
|
55
|
41,322
|
13
|
| West Warwick School Dept. |
275
|
56
|
45,431
|
11
|
| Smithfield School Dept. |
173
|
56
|
41,023
|
13
|
| Chariho Regional School Dist. |
248
|
56
|
40,728
|
11
|
| East Providence Schools |
479
|
56
|
45,030
|
12
|
| Northern Rhode Island Collaborative |
10
|
56
|
38,481
|
7
|
| Coventry Public Schools |
325
|
56
|
47,098
|
13
|
| Central Falls Collaborative |
166
|
57
|
44,896
|
10
|
| Narragansett School Dept. |
123
|
57
|
40,643
|
10
|
| Lincoln School Dept. |
193
|
57
|
45,148
|
13
|
| Bristol Warren Reg. School Dist. |
296
|
57
|
41,421
|
13
|
| Pawtucket School Dept. |
632
|
57
|
43,330
|
12
|
| Woonsocket School Dept. |
469
|
57
|
42,289
|
12
|
| Portsmouth School Dept. |
211
|
57
|
43,065
|
12
|
| North Providence School Dept. |
251
|
57
|
46,787
|
11
|
| Newport School Dept. |
363
|
57
|
41,593
|
14
|
| Cranston School Dept. |
769
|
57
|
44,425
|
13
|
Switching to rankings of retirees by the amount of their pensions, Superior Court leads the list:
|
Top 20 Rhode Island Public Employers by
Average Gross Pension |
||||
|
Number of Retirees
|
Average Age at Retirement
|
Average Gross Pension ($)
|
Average Years Retired
|
|
| Judges-Superior Court |
10
|
70
|
104,264
|
5
|
| Providence 12 month bi-weekly (teachers) |
22
|
57
|
71,620
|
7
|
| Coventry Lighting Dist. |
1
|
80
|
68,834
|
5
|
| State Police Judge |
317
|
49
|
68,171
|
20
|
| State Police |
4
|
46
|
63,501
|
6
|
| Narragansett School Dept./Adm. |
5
|
59
|
62,731
|
6
|
| Barrington Fire Dept. (25 Plan) |
1
|
57
|
50,657
|
8
|
| East Greenwich Hsg. Auth. |
1
|
66
|
49,646
|
3
|
| Coventry Public Schools |
325
|
56
|
47,098
|
13
|
| North Providence School Dept. |
251
|
57
|
46,787
|
11
|
| West Warwick School Dept. |
275
|
56
|
45,431
|
11
|
| Lincoln School Dept. |
193
|
57
|
45,148
|
13
|
| East Providence Schools |
479
|
56
|
45,030
|
12
|
| Central Falls Collaborative |
166
|
57
|
44,896
|
10
|
| Warwick School Dept. |
980
|
57
|
44,598
|
14
|
| Cranston School Dept. |
769
|
57
|
44,425
|
13
|
| Cumberland School Dept. |
334
|
57
|
43,614
|
12
|
| R.I. Airport Corporation |
22
|
57
|
43,537
|
6
|
| Johnston School Dept. |
215
|
55
|
43,505
|
13
|
| Pawtucket School Dept. |
632
|
57
|
43,330
|
12
|
As far as individual retirees are concerned, however, the top list is much more dramatically dominated by judges:
|
Rhode Island’s 20 Highest Pensions
|
||||
| Former Employer |
Age at Retirement
|
Gross Pension ($)
|
Years Retired
|
|
| WEISBERGER, JOSEPH R | State Police Judge (Supreme Court) |
81
|
195,000
|
10
|
| RODGERS, JOSEPH F | State Police Judge (Supreme Court) |
68
|
185,648
|
2
|
| SHEA, DONALD F | State Police Judge (Supreme Court) |
70
|
174,144
|
16
|
| ARRIGAN, ROBERT F | State Police Judge (Worker’s Comp.) |
70
|
171,567
|
8
|
| MACKTAZ, PAMELA M | State Police Judge (Family Court) |
65
|
169,594
|
4
|
| HIGGINS, Michael A | State Police Judge (District Court) |
66
|
168,770
|
1
|
| DIPETRILLO, CARMINE R | State Police Judge (Family Court) & Legislator |
67
|
164,795
|
17
|
| RAGOSTA, VINCENT A | State Police Judge (Superior Court) |
84
|
164,654
|
3
|
| ROTONDI, JOHN J | State Police Judge (Worker’s Comp.) |
65
|
163,229
|
4
|
| CRESTO, DOMINIC F | State Police Judge (Superior Court) |
67
|
162,800
|
12
|
| GAGNON, RONALD R | State Police Judge (Superior Court) |
72
|
162,269
|
9
|
| MOORE, PATRICIA D | State Police Judge (District Court) |
68
|
159,828
|
4
|
| ISRAEL, RICHARD J | State Police Judge (Superior Court) |
71
|
159,762
|
10
|
| LIPSEY, HOWARD I | Superior Court |
72
|
157,794
|
3
|
| CAPPELLI, JOHN | State Police Judge (District Court) |
65
|
155,782
|
10
|
| GRANDE, CORINNE P | State Police Judge (Superior Court) |
65
|
155,766
|
18
|
| RAO, CARMINE A | State Police Judge (Worker’s Comp.) |
71
|
152,251
|
10
|
| GORMAN, WALTER | Superior Court |
71
|
151,871
|
3
|
| NAZARIAN, JOHN | State |
76
|
144,260
|
3
|
| BERETTA, VICTOR | State Police Judge (District Court) |
65
|
143,003
|
18
|
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