Greenwich retired police officers have not received a pension increase in two decades, even as their health care and living costs have risen sharply, according to the president of the Retired Police Association of Greenwich.

Frank J. Kiernan, who retired from the Greenwich Police Department in 2006, published a letter in the Greenwich Free Press on Tuesday, July 22, accusing the Town Pension Board of refusing to discuss raises for retirees and their widows. Kiernan said the last pension increase came more than 20 years ago, before he left the force.

"I retired in 2006; there has not been a single increase in the pension for 20 years," Kiernan wrote. "Over that same period the cost of health insurance increased 188%, Medicare increased 129%, prescription drug costs 300%, State income tax increased 40%, property taxes are the highest in the nation, the Town's pension obligation has increased 0%."

Kiernan alleged that the board will not even place a pension increase on its meeting agenda. He wrote that an unnamed board member was overheard telling retirees and widows who need money to "refinance their homes." The Town Pension Board has not publicly responded to Kiernan's claims.

The issue traces back to 2019, when the Silver Shield Association, the active-duty police union, negotiated a cost-of-living adjustment into its contract with the town. That COLA applied only to officers retiring after the agreement took effect, Kiernan wrote, leaving out everyone who left the force before 2019 and their surviving spouses.

Kiernan said the town had previously assured officers during contract negotiations that it would "take care of" them in retirement. He wrote that those promises stopped being honored more than 20 years ago.

The department's broader pension structure has drawn separate criticism. In a July 18 Greenwich Time interview, Police Chief James Heavey said the phasing out of the defined benefit plan for officers hired after July 2011 has hurt recruitment and retention, making it difficult to compete with departments that offer stronger retirement packages. Only 23 of the department's 152 sworn officers live in Greenwich, and few of those own homes, Heavey said.

Kiernan wrote that he still drives through town "as if I am on patrol, ready to help anyone in distress," and questioned how current officers view their own retirement prospects when they see retirees left behind.

The Town Pension Board has not issued a statement in response to Kiernan's letter. No upcoming board meeting date or scheduled vote on a pension increase has been announced.