Extraordinary growth in retirement benefits for Baltimore County Executive C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger and other elected county officials -- under the region's most generous pension system -- is triggering calls for reform.
Large salary increases, combined with the liberalization of county pension rules, have allowed long-serving officials to look forward to early pensions rivaling the pay of some full-time county workers.
Ruppersberger, who plans to seek re-election next year, is a prime example.
If he completes a second term, his 17 years as a county councilman and executive would bring an immediate pension of $89,250 a year for life -- 85 percent of his final salary.
By comparison, that's more than a two-term Maryland governor would get after a 30-year career as a legislator and governor. And it's nearly $42,000 more than a Baltimore mayor would get after 20 years in office.
"I think it ought to be changed. There should be a cap," said Baltimore County Council Chairman Joseph Bartenfelder, a Fullerton Democrat. He intends to move for reform next year, before the elections.
John D. O'Neill, chairman of the Maryland Taxpayers Association, called the county's system "ridiculous."
"Public officials aren't in there for jobs," he said, referring to their private careers. "Why should they have pensions at all?"
Ruppersberger earns $90,000 a year, though he and council members contribute 13.85 percent of their pay toward their pensions. The executive's pay is to rise to $105,000 after next year's election.
Ruppersberger defends the pension system, noting that "none of this was my doing."
He added: "I didn't take this job for money. That wasn't my perspective. It's the law that was there when I came into office. I've never even looked at the system to evaluate it."
But as a newly appointed councilman in November 1986, Ruppersberger voted with his six fellow members to include the county executive in the council's pension plan and to allow an executive to get a pension after one term.
Baltimore County's pension system for council members was devised more than 25 years ago, when members earned a meager $3,000 a year.
Their pensions are calculated at 5 percent per year of service, multiplied by their highest year's salary.
Before 1986, the executive earned pension credit at 2.5 percent per year, and required five years of service to be vested, meaning a one-term executive did not qualify for a pension.
Now, any elected county official serving 20 years in office may retire at full pay for life, regardless of age.
After 16 years of service, an official may retire with 80 percent of pay, regardless of age.
Otherwise, elected officials are eligible at age 55, five years sooner than county workers.
"It's cushy. It's always been that way -- I can't defend it," said Councilman Louis L. DePazzo, a Dundalk Democrat who criticized the pensions as a state legislator in 1990, but now stands to benefit from one.
He said council votes simply aren't there for reform.
Baltimore County's benefits are more generous than those offered by other major governments in the state.
In Baltimore, for example, an elected official who served 20 years would earn a pension equal to half of his or her highest salary. And city officials aren't eligible for pensions until they serve 12 years.
Most other major localities and the state government use either the state employees pension system or a 401(k)-style plan based primarily on contributions.
In Prince George's County, for example, an official with Ruppersberger's length of service and salary would get an annual $23,500 pension, county finance officials said.
Several governments limit pensions to well below full pay.
Maryland legislators may not receive pensions greater than two-thirds of their pay -- no matter how long they serve -- and may not collect until age 60.
The governor gets a pension worth half the annual salary after two terms.
A governor with 30 years combined service would get about $81,000.
Howard County officials can earn a pension up to 49 percent of their pay after 30 years in office, officials there say.
Anne Arundel, Carroll and Montgomery counties use modified 401(k) systems that pay whatever is saved and earned by investments during an official's tenure. Harford County uses the retirement system for state employees.
But in Towson, Ruppersberger's potential pension represents a breakthrough from the relatively small benefits of years past.
For example, only 10 former Baltimore County elected officials -- all former council members -- receive county pensions; they total $101,000 annually.
Only two of the officials -- four-term council members Norman W. Lauenstein (1974-1990) and Gary Huddles (1970-1986) -- receive more than $20,000 a year, though a third is nearing that level.
The lowest annual pension is $1,106; the highest is Huddles' $26,159.52.
Huddles, who began receiving his pension at age 47, is preparing to begin a two-year federal prison term for laundering drug money.
