EDITORIAL
Paramedic retirement bill prompts questions

A bill authorizing retirement after 25 years of service for paramedics is on Gov. Linda Lingle's desk for signature.

This is a perquisite already enjoyed by police officers, firefighters and lifeguards, and we see no reason why paramedics don't deserve parity.

But the bill raises questions about the philosophy behind early retirement for emergency workers. The idea, of course, arises from a public sense of gratitude for careers involving service and sacrifice under stress.

The fact is, however, that the rising cost of providing pensions and full healthcare for families of employees retiring in their mid-40s may become insupportable in any realistic appraisal of state and county tax revenues.

We would agree that older police officers shouldn't be pounding beats and older firefighters lugging hose, but older workers should be finding their way into supervisory capacities. And indeed, many valuable supervisors are retiring in the midst of their careers.

We think lawmakers should look at the military's system for retirement of officers, where those passed over for promotion are retired earlier than those rising in the apex of command.

We all agree that Hawai'i's emergency workers are clearly underpaid compared to their Mainland counterparts in terms of salary, but we wonder if that holds true if the total cost of compensation, including generous early retirement terms, is considered.

It's time to launch a serious study of these issues — before fiscal realities dictate their own solutions.