NBA boosts retired players pension benefits

At the NBA All-Star Game in Las Vegas, NBA commissioner David Stern announced the League is improving pensions for all retired players.

Players who retired pre-1965 will receive a 50% increase in pension benefits. They will receive $3,600 per year of service compared with $2,400. Players with three and four years of NBA service will also be eligible for the higher benefit.

Len Elmore president of the National Basketball Retired  Players Association said:

"We're absolutely pleased. The league has been progressive in its generosity to do something for the pre-'65ers. There are a lot of organizations around the world who wouldn't look back 40 to 50 years at people who didn't qualify for a pension and try to do something to help them."

A lot of credit goes to Bill Tosheff, who played in the NBA for three years during the early 1950s. Not only did players pre-1965 need 5 years to qualify, but several players clocks stopped when they left the League to serve in the military. Tosheff spent years lobbying the League and PA that these years should be added back, which the NBA has done. Tosheff spent years reviewing old newspaper clips and other documents to prove that certain "pre-65ers" had enough total service to qualify for the NBA pension.

Comments

[andy fine]

You would think the NFLPA and NBA players associations would be in favor of creating a deferred compensation pension system so that everyone does not blow their money in their 20's and thirties. But if you are an older 80's or earlier player, don't expect much in benefits, since you were in the league prior to the revenue windfall which began around then. Bad luck and timing for them. Would the players be in favor of a more egalitarian distribution of revenue to guarantee minimum persion benefits for all? Doubt it.