REGINA TASCA VS. BOARD OF TRUSTEES, POLICE AND FIREMEN'S RETIREMENT SYSTEM (POLICE AND FIREMEN'S RETIREMENT SYSTEM) (A-4028-15T1)
The court rejects Regina Tasca's appeal of the final agency decision of the Board of Trustees (Board), Police and Firemen's Retirement System (PFRS), denying her twenty-year service (early) retirement pension benefits under N.J.S.A. 43:16A-5(3). Tasca's transfer of six years of service credit that gave her more than the twenty-year service credit threshold needed for early retirement did not qualify her for early retirement pension benefits. The Board properly interpreted N.J.S.A. 43:16A-5(3) in determining that because she was not a PFRS "member" at the critical time of the statute's January 18, 2000 effective date, she was ineligible for early retirement pension benefits. The court also concludes that the doctrine of equitable estoppel does not afford Tasca relief against a governmental body, such as the Board, and there was no misrepresentation by the PFRS staff that she was eligible for early retirement pension benefits under N.J.S.A. 43:16A-5(3). The court further concludes that even though the Law Division action settlement with her former employer include her seeking early retirement pension benefits based on the good faith belief that she was eligible for the benefits, the public policy favoring settlements against parties who have entered into them serves no basis for granting her the benefits in this matter. The Board's decision is affirmed.
