NJ Spotlight News
NJ's lifeguard pensions face perilous deficits
Clip: 8/1/2025 | 1m 2sVideo has Closed Captions
State comptroller said pension mandate should be scrapped
For almost a century, lifeguards in certain Jersey Shore towns who serve at least 20 years are entitled to a pension after turning 45 years old. But today those pensions are severely neglected, according to a new report from the state comptroller’s office, and the office is recommending the state's mandate should be discontinued.
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NJ Spotlight News is a local public television program presented by THIRTEEN PBS
NJ Spotlight News
NJ's lifeguard pensions face perilous deficits
Clip: 8/1/2025 | 1m 2sVideo has Closed Captions
For almost a century, lifeguards in certain Jersey Shore towns who serve at least 20 years are entitled to a pension after turning 45 years old. But today those pensions are severely neglected, according to a new report from the state comptroller’s office, and the office is recommending the state's mandate should be discontinued.
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipDid you know that New Jersey lifeguards are entitled to a pension?
A state law passed in 1928 called the Lifeguard Pension Fund Law entitles these seasonal workers to a pension at age 45 after 20 years of service.
The fund is managed by the individual municipality that the lifeguard is employed in.
But the state's comptroller, Kevin Walsh, recently analyzed how the program is run and found major inconsistencies between the shore towns.
Not all of them are required to offer a pension, and of those required, not all are in compliance with the law.
Of those that are offering lifeguard pensions, many are facing multi-million dollar shortages in their fund.
Walsh says the findings indicate that the law is outdated and inequitable and imposes excessive financial burdens on just a few towns while offering generous benefits to workers and seasonal jobs.
He's calling on the legislature to revise the law.
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NJ Spotlight News is a local public television program presented by THIRTEEN PBS