Retired firefighters say new pension transfer law is unlawful; class-action filed

Patty Mann, vice president of the Retired Firefighters of Washington, told attendees she and allied groups have joined a class-action challenge to a law referred to in the transcript as HB 20 34 that she said redirects surplus funds from a pre-1977 firefighter/law-enforcement pension system (described in the discussion as LEHI 1).

Mann said firefighters and law-enforcement personnel covered by that pension do not receive Social Security for those jobs, and that their pension is their primary retirement income. She described actuarial estimates that put roughly $4,000,000,000 in excess funding by 2029 and said more than $500 million of that could be directed to the Climate Commitment Act while the rest would flow into a pension-security fund accessible to the state general fund.

Mann said the litigation — brought by Hagens Berman as a class action — currently names three groups (the LeftOne coalition of mostly retired firefighters and police, the Retired Firefighters of Washington, and the Seattle Police Officers Retired Association) and additional named plaintiffs. She described the suit as arguing the transfer is unconstitutional under both the U.S. and Washington constitutions because it takes funds that do not directly benefit the pension beneficiaries.

An audience member asked whether other public-employee groups could join the class; Mann replied the class action as filed represents LEHI 1 members only. Mann urged attendees to follow judicial elections because the case will likely move through summary-judgment stages and could arrive at the state supreme court.

Next steps: Mann said attorneys will seek class certification and pursue summary judgment before potential appeals; timing and specific court calendar items were not provided at the event.