Officials rip decision to boost ex-cabinet chief's pension
Former Public Safety Secretary Andrea Cabral qualifies for a retirement benefit classification typically designated for frontline police officers and firefighters that critics say will unfairly boost her pension, state officials said Thursday.
State Retirement Board officials said there is no question Cabral's previous service as Suffolk County sheriff, an elected position, and as an assistant district attorney qualifies her in the Group 4 pension category, under state law.
Cabral, 55, left her job in January after staying a few weeks to help the Baker administration transition. She spent 23 years total in the sheriff and district attorney positions, and 28 years total in public service.
A handful of lawmakers have expressed outrage that the former secretary requested the Group 4 classification, which they argue is intended for public safety employees who put themselves in harm's way.
With Treasurer Deborah Goldberg presiding, State Retirement Board officials indicated at a meeting Thursday that she qualifies for the classification, but did not discuss it.
The board handles dozens of applications each month. If there are no questions about category eligibility, the applications are reported to the board, and do not require a vote, according to a board official. Cabral did not attend the meeting.
Before the meeting, Nicola Favorito, executive director of the board, said the board is obligated to follow the law, adding "for the time being there is not a lot of discretion here for the board. Those titles that we are talking about today are in the statute. They have been in the statute for a long period of time."
Cabral, appointed secretary by Gov. Deval Patrick in January 2013, retired after Gov. Charlie Baker picked her replacement, Daniel Bennett, a 53-year-old senior first assistant district attorney in Worcester County.
A 2011 pension reform law passed by the Legislature allows Cabral's previous service to be pro-rated in the calculation of her pension benefit, according to retirement officials. Her role as public safety secretary does not fall within the same category.
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