PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - A Rhode Island judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by more than 60 public-sector retirees against the city of Providence over its pension reform agreement.
A decision issued Thursday by Superior Court Judge Sarah Taft-Carter says the retired police officers and firefighters aren’t entitled to lifetime health benefits and an annual cost-of-living adjustment.
Taft-Carter’s decision says the retirees “failed to meet their burden of demonstrating their claims.”
The November 2013 lawsuit was filed in opposition to a settlement between the city, its municipal unions and retirees that froze 3 percent cost-of-living adjustments for 10 years.
The agreement also shifted retirees over the age of 65 to Medicare and eliminated 5 percent and 6 percent cost-of-living adjustments indefinitely. Taft-Carter approved the pension settlement in 2015.
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