cost of state pensions: $1 trillion

[IGBT]

yet we still find 60 billion+ a year to pizz away on foreign aid.

 

[Fern]

Too many people here talking about federal pensions.

Federal pensions != state/local pensions.

This article is about state pension problems.

Fern

 

[Throckmorton]

BTW where's my pension? I make half what I would in the private sector and I have to pay into my retirement plan!

 

[Hacp]

yet we still find 60 billion+ a year to pizz away on foreign aid.

100 million wasted on haiti alone.

 

[borosp1]

This is why your property, income, and sales tax go up no matter if the economy is tanking or your house value is plummeting. They need to get rid of and modify the entire pension system.

I. They should cap max payout per year (no one should get $200K+ adjusted cost of living increase for life without working). Pensions should be capped at around $50k max and maybe a adjustment for COLA increases as well.

II. All new Govt workers will now be put on a 401K plan where they contribute to their individual retirement. This will be something no politician will do as it will be career suicide but it needs to be done.

 

[sao123]

This is why your property, income, and sales tax go up no matter if the economy is tanking or your house value is plummeting. They need to get rid of and modify the entire pension system.

I. They should cap max payout per year (no one should get $200K+ adjusted cost of living increase for life without working). Pensions should be capped at around $50k max and maybe a adjustment for COLA increases as well.

II. All new Govt workers will now be put on a 401K plan where they contribute to their individual retirement. This will be something no politician will do as it will be career suicide but it needs to be done.

why dont we just introduce a univeral salary cap across the entire US commercial sector? No-one deserves to be paid mroe than $200K per year no matter what their profession.

 

[Hacp]

why dont we just introduce a univeral salary cap across the entire US commercial sector? No-one deserves to be paid mroe than $200K per year no matter what their profession.

The states should really declare bankruptcy and invalidate those pensions. This is literally taking hard earned money from the taxpayer and giving it to people sitting on their asses doing nothing.

 

[FallenHero]

http://ippfa.org/temp/temp_2010_03_ctba_review_news.pdf

just a portion of the article:

Again ignoring reality, Byrne contends that "overly generous public pensions are to blame for much of the state's financial difficulty". Sure, that makes headlines - but it just simply isn't true. Just like everyone else who makes this claim, Byrne cites no data to support it - because he can't. In reality, based on the Report on the Financial Condition of the State Retirement Systems as of June 30, 2009,the average pension benefit for retired employees in the state is $26,663.00, which is $2,221.90 a month. And that's it, because 78 percent of state employees do not receive Social Security.

That also means the state saves taxpayer money because it doesn't have to pay the 7.65 percent FICA tax, or a 6.2 percent payroll tax. In fact, if the state consistently made its actuarially determined employer contribution to the system, the normal cost of Illinois' pension benefits would be less expensive for taxpayers than what private employers spend on 401(k)s and Social Security.

Byrne disingenuously asserts Illinois "swiped money from the irresistible billions sitting in the pension funds" - which never happened. Illinois never took money out of the pension systems to fund services; the state just never made the payments!

That's the catch. The state has, for decades now, failed to make its actuarially determined employer contribution to Illinois' five pension systems - even thought that contribution is lower cost than the typical private sector 401(k) plan plus Social Security. The reason for that failure is simple. The very same long term structural revenue problems built into the state's fiscal system that have resulted in ongoing deficits for years, made it difficult for Illinois to fund its lower cost and competitive pension system. So it didn't.

 

[Zorkorist]

I'm just shocked, shocked, that in a democracy, people yet again elected politicians who made short-term promises that, in the long-term, were completely unsustainable. So many chickens coming home to roost in the near future.

Post of the day.

-John

 

[Siddhartha]

How much has the US spent in the Iraqi War?

 

[rudder]

Too many people here talking about federal pensions.

Federal pensions != state/local pensions.

This article is about state pension problems.

Fern

We know. But there really is no difference in state pension funding and federal pension funding. They are both going to need taxpayer assistance to fund future payouts.

 

[sao123]

The states should really declare bankruptcy and invalidate those pensions. This is literally taking hard earned money from the taxpayer and giving it to people sitting on their asses doing nothing.

how is that any different from GM, ENRON, or every other corporation who takes my hard earned money and gives it to their CEO's and executives... they sit on their asses and do nothing, and get mega severance packages, and its making their products cost more.

Tax money spent on roads, bridges, and law enforcement, is no different than money i spend on cars, computers, and grapefruits.


Im fine with trimming fat, but dont just target government. Do it across the board.

 

[piasabird]

Well if you work for the government and dont pay SS there is also a penalty you pay where you can not receive full SS when you retire. This often affects teachers. This is all based on the government not being willing to pay employees matching SS to itstelf the government.

 

[Patranus]

Well if you work for the government and dont pay SS there is also a penalty you pay where you can not receive full SS when you retire. This often affects teachers. This is all based on the government not being willing to pay employees matching SS to itstelf the government.

Yet another example of government exempting itself for its horible programs that it forces on the American people.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

how is that any different from GM, ENRON, or every other corporation who takes my hard earned money and gives it to their CEO's and executives... they sit on their asses and do nothing, and get mega severance packages, and its making their products cost more.

Tax money spent on roads, bridges, and law enforcement, is no different than money i spend on cars, computers, and grapefruits.


Im fine with trimming fat, but dont just target government. Do it across the board.

excluding companies that received bailout money, the difference is that it is not my tax dollars that are funding their salary and retirement (not including medicaid/ss taxes).

i have no choice when it comes to paying taxes.

i do have a choice to not buy products from certain companies.

 

[Mursilis]

I was basing it what my dad is earning on his federal pension. He obviously started working for the feds a long time ago so it likely changed. I still stand by my opinion that you are in excellent shape if you can land a federal job. Vacation, sick leave, insurance bennie, pension, it is really good.

Your dad was probably under the old system, CSRS, which went away in the 80's (1986?) because, as you said, it was a nice system for the worker but too expensive for the taxpayer. People who began under CSRS were allowed to keep it, but everyone else is under FERS, which isn't nearly as generous. As for a federal job being great, yes and no - it really depends on the field, and the location. Sometimes the federal salary vs. the private sector is more, and sometimes less. The bennies are great though - can't argue with that.

 

[Darwin333]

why dont we just introduce a univeral salary cap across the entire US commercial sector? No-one deserves to be paid mroe than $200K per year no matter what their profession.

They can do that right now if they wanted, for government employees of course (which is what we are talking about). Most private companies aren't dumb enough to put in place a completely unsustainable system of paying people incredibly large sums of money (above and beyond what was contributed by the employee) after the stop providing services. The few private companies that have/do that do so because they were forced to do so and it isn't working out (or going to work out) well for them either. The math always wins.

 

[Mursilis]

Too many people here talking about federal pensions.

Federal pensions != state/local pensions.

This article is about state pension problems.

Fern

True, but going slightly off-topic is practically a tradition here!

 

[Mursilis]

Well if you work for the government and dont pay SS there is also a penalty you pay where you can not receive full SS when you retire. This often affects teachers. This is all based on the government not being willing to pay employees matching SS to itstelf the government.

Maybe true at the state and local level, but not the federal level.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

so basically they make more than you because they know more than you.
seems logical to me.

nick?
amirite?

 

[Vette73]

Maybe true at the state and local level, but not the federal level.

Ahh yes it is. You need 40 credits to get SS. To get credits you have to pay into SS over a set period of time. CSRS people at the Fed level did not pay into SS so they do not get SS when they retire.

 

[piasabird]

The cost of SS is more. So cancel SS.

 

[Zargon]

thank god I am IMRF and not IL SERS

my 'pension' is really a well managed retirement fund

 

[Macabre215]

fixed

No, No No No No NO.

 

[Macabre215]

How much has the US spent in the Iraqi War?

Just over 720 billion, and now closing in on a trillion if you include Afghanistan. Now just think about where all the money is going; look at how rich all the arms companies are getting..... it's mind boggling.