Investigators say an Adams-era rule let NYPD brass keep bigger pensions

Some high-ranking NYPD officials kept their police pension membership after moving into jobs that did not qualify for it, under a practice used during former Mayor Eric Adams’ administration, the city Department of Investigation said in a report released Thursday, Sept. 17.

The report focuses on Section 821 designations. The DOI says the practice left some officials with larger pensions than the law allows, and taxpayers cover the difference.

What the DOI found about Section 821 designations

Section 821 lets employees keep certain rights when they leave a uniformed police job for a civilian post or another government leadership role. Its purpose is to let qualified staff accept temporary appointments beyond the competitive civil service while holding on to their pension rights.

Investigators reviewed records from the NYPD, the Police Pension Fund, the Department of Citywide Administrative Services and other agencies. They found at least five officials who moved from pension-eligible positions to ineligible ones but stayed in the pension system. According to the DOI, those officials got bigger pensions, now or in the future, than the law allows. In three more cases, the NYPD had signed agreements capping how much a civilian salary could raise an employee’s pension. The DOI says the Police Pension Fund knew about those agreements but did not apply the caps.

Under Adams, police commissioners gave the designation to nine people while placing them in exempt or unclassified positions. The last one was in February 2025.

Pension changes the DOI wants

DOI Commissioner Nadia Shihata said the practice led to inconsistent treatment of NYPD officials and left taxpayers paying for higher pensions. Her office is asking the Police Pension Fund to recompute three pensions with the Section 821 designations removed. Two belong to Eugene Whyte and Edelle James, who both served in the NYPD for many years. The third belongs to Louis Molina, the former Department of Correction commissioner. The report also says the fund should make sure the pensions of Kenneth Morgan and Lamona Knight leave out their time as NYPD assistant commissioners.

Molina, a former NYPD detective, was named correction commissioner by Adams in 2022. He retired as commissioner of Citywide Administrative Services in December 2025.

The DOI also recommended written policies for Section 821 designations. The agency said the NYPD and Citywide Administrative Services accepted all of the recommendations aimed at them, and the pension fund agreed to create a written policy. It is unclear whether the fund will revisit the affected pensions.

Shihata said agencies need to communicate clearly and follow well-defined, written policies. “These critical elements were absent in the prior mayoral administration’s issuance of § 821 designations,” she said.