McGrath v. Rhode Island Retirement Board

SELYA, Circuit Judge.

This appeal requires us to determine whether a legislated change to a substantive provision of a public employees’ retirement plan, as applied, transgresses the Contracts Clause of the United States Constitution. We find no constitutional infraction: plaintiff-appellant Thomas McGrath’s pension rights had not yet vested when the modification occurred, and the state had reserved the power to alter or revoke its promise of retirement benefits to municipal employees at the time it established the plan in which McGrath later became a participant. Consequently, we affirm the…