CPBO Posted June 17, 2012 Share #1 Posted June 17, 2012 He saw something, he said something — and now he’s paying for it. In a 19-year career as a subway worker, Perry Kinard was almost killed twice. In 1978, a bandit stabbed him in the lung while he was mopping stairs in a Manhattan station. In 1990, he was shot in the chest and head by a crazed drunk in a Queens station. But New York has repaid Kinard’s sacrifices with a slap. The city’s biggest pension system — claiming it overpaid him for 22 years — has slashed his monthly allowance from $1,414 to $5. “How am I supposed to live?” asked the 74-year-old great-grandfather, who has moved to South Carolina and was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer. . Kinard, with four kids to support, eagerly returned to work after the first attack. In 1990, a drunk began making derogatory remarks about black youths on the platform of the Grand Avenue-Newtown G/R station in Elmhurst. Two plainclothes cops ordered the man to leave, but he returned in a huff. Kinard came out to calm him down. “Did you call the cops on me?” the 66-year-old drunk asked. “That’s all I remember, except pop, pop, pop!” Kinard recalled. “A bullet went through my chest. They say with the Lord’s help it didn’t hit the heart. “The second bullet I’m walking around with in my head. They couldn’t take it out, or it would do more damage,” he said. In March, the New York City Employee Retirement System (NYCERS) notified Kinard that his disability pension should have been “offset” by the $150 a week in workers’-compensation payments he has received. Instead of $1,414, he deserved only $762 a month, NYCERS said. http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/pound_of_flesh_HBIrKwyCY3oTkpxuMxMEgM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Threxx Posted June 17, 2012 Share #2 Posted June 17, 2012 $5 dollars? That shouldn't even be legal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astoria Line Posted June 17, 2012 Share #3 Posted June 17, 2012 How do they expect him to live off of $5??........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VWM Posted June 17, 2012 Share #4 Posted June 17, 2012 This is why we have a minimum wage. so hsit like this doesn't happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youngblaze Posted June 17, 2012 Share #5 Posted June 17, 2012 This is why we have a minimum wage. so hsit like this doesn't happen. This makes no sense at all.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shortline Bus Posted June 17, 2012 Share #6 Posted June 17, 2012 Sad story. Red tape is in play here and no common sense. It sounds like the best compromise IMO is for NYCERS just deduct something like $75-$100 a month to pay back the overpayment and give him the rest of his rightful pay. And make sure these screw-ups i.e computer overpay dont happen again as these mistakes also costs taxpayers. Hate to say it but an example of ecomonic class system in pay. If this was say the police union and a former cop had a similar situation that guy would just repay the overpayment with something like what i suggested. Or the Governor allowing former Chairmans to be getting lifetime benefits, even if they held the job for only 1-2 years. At times I don't agree with the TWU but on this issue why they not fighting for this guy? With this citywide attention hopefully, a politican steps in and helps Mr.Kinard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Tram man Posted June 17, 2012 Share #7 Posted June 17, 2012 I've only got one word for this: insane! Even if he was overpaid for those 22 years his pension shouldn't be lowered. If anything it should be raised becouse of what he's been through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewFlyer 230 Posted June 17, 2012 Share #8 Posted June 17, 2012 I didn't want to bring this up but racism probably was involved in this. It's ashame that we are still dealing with stuff like that today. We are all the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shortline Bus Posted June 17, 2012 Share #9 Posted June 17, 2012 Not to mention this now "retired" worker more than likely wont be around in 2030. I hope College Point it's not racism(Rich Black People like Oprah get their butts kicked all the time)but again as i said earlier class status in this a working class Black man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theaveragejoe Posted June 18, 2012 Share #10 Posted June 18, 2012 what should be done is 10-20 % taken off his pension to pay back the over payment until its repaid. How is the man suppost to pay his bills? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RTS CNG Command Posted June 18, 2012 Share #11 Posted June 18, 2012 $5?! Who the hell can LIVE on a $5-per-month pension? This is just bullshit, NYCERS! Shame on you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjbr40 Posted June 18, 2012 Share #12 Posted June 18, 2012 i hope he have a very good lawyer to help him get the money he deserved.$5 a month is craziest thing i ever heard. It just one meal a month. who can live on that? He better make noise!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brighton Express Posted June 18, 2012 Share #13 Posted June 18, 2012 That is just utterly sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youngblaze Posted June 19, 2012 Share #14 Posted June 19, 2012 I'll be damned....devoting my entire life to an organization and not getting what I'm entitled to after retirement smh....more of a reason to contribute more to the 401k and 457b plans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedChikkin Posted June 20, 2012 Share #15 Posted June 20, 2012 I'll be damned....devoting my entire life to an organization and not getting what I'm entitled to after retirement smh....more of a reason to contribute more to the 401k and 457b plans. ...like my father told me when I came into Transit and he was retiring; "Son, never forget that you're only a number to them... you'll be lucky to get a pat on the back on your way out..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theaveragejoe Posted June 21, 2012 Share #16 Posted June 21, 2012 I'll be damned....devoting my entire life to an organization and not getting what I'm entitled to after retirement smh....more of a reason to contribute more to the 401k and 457b plans. You should never just have a work pension, you should always max out your 401k as a good back up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qjtransitmaster Posted June 21, 2012 Share #17 Posted June 21, 2012 I wonder what kind of drugs were used in the decision making process to decide his pay meth? $5 cmon what drugs were involved to even consider this? cause they must be strong really strong. here is what my friend vegeta thinks about this move Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedChikkin Posted June 22, 2012 Share #18 Posted June 22, 2012 Even better... I started investing in Gold and Silver as soon as Obama announced his economy-crushing payouts to the very bullies of predatory lending. Gold was about $840/Troy Ounce then. 401k and 457 are gambling, gambling's never a good backup. How many lost thousands due to aggressive 401k investing after that economic bubble pop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie Posted June 22, 2012 Share #19 Posted June 22, 2012 I didn't want to bring this up but racism probably was involved in this. It's ashame that we are still dealing with stuff like that today. We are all the same. The only racism is reverse racism. What he did was a crime, getting money that wasn't his and spending it instead of giving it back. If he was white, people would want him in jail until 2030. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Tram man Posted June 23, 2012 Share #20 Posted June 23, 2012 The only racism is reverse racism. What he did was a crime, getting money that wasn't his and spending it instead of giving it back. If he was white, people would want him in jail until 2030. Maybe he didn't notice he was overpaid? Even if he was, they could've lowered his pension by $5 over a longer period of time rather than force him to live on $5 a month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted June 23, 2012 Share #21 Posted June 23, 2012 Maybe he didn't notice he was overpaid? Nonsense excuse. You don't think he would notice if he were underpaid? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Tram man Posted June 24, 2012 Share #22 Posted June 24, 2012 Nonsense excuse. You don't think he would notice if he were underpaid? True, and a good point, but maybe he really didn't notice. Either way, like i said, they couldn't have lowered it with $5 instead of lowering itto $5? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shortline Bus Posted June 24, 2012 Share #23 Posted June 24, 2012 True, and a good point, but maybe he really didn't notice. Either way, like i said, they couldn't have lowered it with $5 instead of lowering itto $5? And overpayments are more common than you think. It also happened to my late dad and his retirement pensions from the miltary. Still i put the overpayment issue more of the staff than the retiree. In this case, as i state it ok for CEO's at wall street companies to be overpaid which Joe does not address. Yet a working class employee they want to lay the hammer. Makes no sense. Just work a compromise as I state in my earlier post, take out something like $100-$150 a month and call it a day. While it not pocket change for the overpayments, this guy would still get something to work out with his pension. This story also has a good lesson for us now working say in our ages 20's, 30's and 40's which most of us adults on the boards. FriedChikkin made a great suggestion. Insvest in 401k as social security and other retirement plans may not be around around 2035 when Generation X(my age group)starts to retire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel Up Front Posted June 24, 2012 Share #24 Posted June 24, 2012 The only racism is reverse racism. What he did was a crime, getting money that wasn't his and spending it instead of giving it back. If he was white, people would want him in jail until 2030. I didn't know a man being robbed of the pension he deserves was a crime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie Posted June 25, 2012 Share #25 Posted June 25, 2012 True, and a good point, but maybe he really didn't notice. Either way, like i said, they couldn't have lowered it with $5 instead of lowering itto $5? The point is so he gives back what wasn't his. Still in this case, as i state it ok for CEO's at wall street companies to be overpaid which Joe does not address. Yet a working class employee they want to lay the hammer. Thinking someone makes too much money is not the same as someone getting money they weren't supposed to get and wasn't theirs. I didn't know a man being robbed of the pension he deserves was a crime. How is he being robbed and how does he deserve it? What about the money he robbed from the taxpayers and didn't deserve when he wasn't honest when he was overpaid? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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