San Francisco Proposition H

Retirement Benefits for Firefighters



Prop. H would partially reverse 2011’s Prop. C, which, among other things, raised the age at which firefighters hired after January 2012 could retire with full benefits to 58. Prop. H would allow those firefighters, like those hired before that date, to retire with full benefits at age 55.

Argument for: Firefighters face higher risks of cancer, likely due to the chemicals they are exposed to in their jobs and in their protective equipment. Those risks increase with age. Since 2006, more than 300 San Francisco firefighters have died from cancer, and more than 160 have been diagnosed with cancer in just the last six years. That’s increased workers compensation costs for The City. Lowering the retirement age would reduce exposure and cancer risk and potentially reduce workers compensation expenses. It would also address the unfairness of having a two-tiered retirement system in which some workers get to retire earlier than others.

Argument against: Firefighters hired after 2012 were fully aware that they wouldn’t be able to retire with full benefits until 58, so there’s essentially no unfairness to address; they signed on to that system. The changes made by Prop. C were designed to shore up The City’s retirement system at a time when it faced a financial crisis. Lowering retirement ages for firefighters risks putting an unsustainable burden back on the retirement system. And given that firefighters spend only a small portion of their on-job time fighting fires and that cancer is a leading cause of death among all Americans, it’s not at all clear that the cancer diagnoses and deaths they’ve experienced are work-related.



https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/politics/2024-sf-voter-guide-local-propositions-measures-on-ballot/article_97615262-7776-11ef-913a-ebf36660f047.html