Bill cracks down on New Hampshire retirement system 'double-dippers'

When Canterbury hired its new police chief last summer, it became the latest town to convert a full-time position to part-time in order to save money and hire someone already collecting a pension from the New Hampshire Retirement System.

The hiring practice means the town can avoid paying 29 percent of that employee’s salary into the indebted retirement system. Canterbury saved more than $15,000 this way.

The arrangement also has its benefits for the 48-year-old chief, Mike Labrecque, who’s allowed to work up to 32 hours while receiving his $48,311 a year pension. He retired as a lieutenant from the Hooksett police department the same day he started in Canterbury, according to pension records.

This maneuver is known as “double dipping,” because the employee simultaneously is paid through a government job – $54,000 a year in this case – while collecting a pension.

Read more: http://www.concordmonitor.com/nh-retirement-system-bill-would-crack-down-on-double-dippers-7703265