BREA

Police officers patrolling the streets this week will be armed with a sense of greater security about their retirement, and a little more money in their pockets.

The city sealed a contract last week with the Brea Police Officers Assn., giving local officers what some council members called one of the best retirement plans in Orange County. Garden Grove and Placentia recently adopted similar packages for their officers.

The package includes a 5.2% salary increase over three years, and an additional percentage on the retirement plan.

Union officials were unavailable for comment Friday, but during the final stages of negotiation Cpl. Chris Haddad, a spokesman for the police union, said the city and the department had agreed on everything.

The pivotal piece of the contract is the “3% at 50” benefit, which is the basis of a formula that increases the amount of money an officer can receive as a pension. The city had been giving officers 2% of their annual salary at 50.