est we forget in the swirl of the election season, we police officers still have a serious pension fight ahead of us in Albany. Last spring, Governor Paterson ignored a 26-year history of extensions and vetoed the bill that would have kept Tier II alive for future police hires.

Now, by default, future hires fall under Tier III, which has long been dormant because, despite having been designed to save money, it’s actually more expensive than Tier II. So the state and city are now stuck with a pension tier that provides less of a benefit to its employees* while it costs the city and state more. You can’t make this stuff up.

The 20-year, half-pay pension that the mayor and the governor consider too generous has become the national standard in these professions in recognition of the unique demands and sacrifices expected of police officers. The standard was established in recognition of the toll taken on the quality of life for those who survive two decades on these dangerous, stress-filled jobs. The 20-year pension also recognizes another great reality: These jobs are for young people.est we forget in the swirl of the election season, we police officers still have a serious pension fight ahead of us in Albany. Last spring, Governor Paterson ignored a 26-year history of extensions and vetoed the bill that would have kept Tier II alive for future police hires.

Now, by default, future hires fall under Tier III, which has long been dormant because, despite having been designed to save money, it’s actually more expensive than Tier II.

*One advantage is members receive full cost-of-living pension benefits after 25 years.

So the state and city are now stuck with a pension tier that provides less of a benefit to its employees* while it costs the city and state more. You can’t make this stuff up.

The 20-year, half-pay pension that the mayor and the governor consider too generous has become the national standard in these professions in recognition of the unique demands and sacrifices expected of police officers. The standard was established in recognition of the toll taken on the quality of life for those who survive two decades on these dangerous, stress-filled jobs. The 20-year pension also recognizes another great reality: These jobs are for young people.

Fighting crime means running into harm’s way as a routine part of the job. Police officers are ready to trade their own lives for an innocent person’s.

These jobs are not for everyone. They require strength, intelligence and, most of all, courage. Morally and ethically, they’re jobs that should be well compensated simply because of the extraordinary sacrifices expected of those who do them.

Plus, policing is not only dangerous but also extremely stressful. Countless studies show higher levels of illness and suicide among police officers.

One recent report called policing “a psychologically stressful work environment filled with danger, high demands, ambiguity in work encounters, human misery and exposure to death.” The same study says “the [police officer’s] body becomes physiologically unbalanced, organs are attacked, and the immune system is compromised,” leading to diabetes and cardio-vascular disease.

While it may be reasonable to expect people in administrative or service jobs to work beyond the age of 55, it’s unreasonable to expect people of that age to take on challenges that require the stamina and strength of youth.

Pensions are just one component of our compensation package. After the city convinced an arbitrator to reduce police officers’ starting pay, recruitment didn’t recover until starting pay was raised to $40,000 in a subsequent contract negotiation. Reducing pensions would have the same effect on recruitment.

Just visit a job fair at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and you’ll see that New York City is in a competitive market and the metropolitan area’s potential young recruits are well informed about compensation and benefits. Even idealistic prospects, motivated to serve the city in this dangerous and stressful profession, would be less likely to sign on for 25 years with a minimum retirement age of 55 when so many other big city police departments nearby and across the nation are offering the standard 20-year, half-pay benefit.

Police officers didn’t cause the financial mess the city and state are trying to fix. Police officers shouldn’t have pay for corporate sins and government mismanagement. We already sacrifice too much.