When Jack Ciattarelli first announced his bid for New Jersey governor in October 2016, he made public worker benefits reform a centerpiece of his platform. In his launch speech, Ciattarelli outlined proposals that would have sharply reduced retirement security for public workers.

He called for eliminating post-retirement health coverage for anyone whose pension and Social Security income exceeded $50,000 annually, effectively stripping many middle-class retirees of the health plans they relied on — and potentially the doctors tied to those plans.

Ciattarelli also proposed phasing out the state’s traditional pension system by shifting all new hires and employees with less than ten years of service into 401(k)-style defined contribution accounts. At the same time, he vowed to end so-called

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