As a retired New York City schoolteacher, I believe one way to cut pension costs is to remove the ability of city and state employees to work excessive hours their last few years to retire at much larger salaries ["Keep promises, but reform pensions," Opinion, Feb. 19].
A decade ago, city teachers gained the right to have their per-session work (after school and summer jobs) pensionable for retirement earnings.
Since this provision has not existed long, why not try to remove or amend this so that teachers and other government employees can retire at a normal pension for their salary?
Why should people who retired many years ago, and did not have the ability to pad their pensions, have to pay more for health benefits or pay local taxes so that others can continue to enrich their pensions in the last years of employment?
Maxine Nagel, Plainview
