Today's homework lesson: "Pension Pickups"
"So it can serve to make teachers' compensation appear smaller than it actually is."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/zorn/ct-teachers-pension-pickup-cps-perspec-0515-20150514-column.html
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
The Pension Sweeteners in Albany Continues Unabated!
Check this out!
http://cbcny.org/http%3A/%252Fwww.cbcny.org/cbc-blogs/blogs/big-decisions-albany-do-not-deter-sweeteners
Here's a tidbit if you don't have time to read the entire article. But you need to make time!!
http://cbcny.org/http%3A/%252Fwww.cbcny.org/cbc-blogs/blogs/big-decisions-albany-do-not-deter-sweeteners
Here's a tidbit if you don't have time to read the entire article. But you need to make time!!
UPDATE - June 22, 2015
Since our last update, four bills featured in CBC’s Benefits Sweetener Scorecard 2015 are just a signature away from becoming New York State law. One bill, A. 6771/S. 4907, passed the legislature last year, but was ultimately vetoed by the governor. If Governor Cuomo chooses to sign these benefits sweeteners, State and local costs will increase.
The bills that passed both houses are:
- A. 7490/S. 3010 would enhance retirement plans for certain State and local police and firefighters, increasing employer costs by 3.2 percent to 6.8 percent of salaries.
- A. 6771A/S. 4907 would enhance retirement plans of uniformed court or peace officers at a cost of $1.8 million.
- A. 5327C/S. 3948B would allow deputy sheriffs in Nassau and Suffolk with police officer training to receive the retirement service credit awarded to police officers without proving at least 50 percent of activities were for criminal law enforcement.
- A. 7547/S. 5785 would allow members of the MTA police retirement system to transfer membership to NYS and local police and fire retirement systems.
In addition to the above, six bills on the CBC Benefits Sweetener Scorecard passed one house before the end of session.
Here's your homework for today. Look up the "13th Check" or "Variable Supplement Fund" as it is sometimes known and be prepared to bust a gut. Here's one article to get you started! Have fun.
http://thephiladelphiacitizen.com/2015/02/phillys-13th-check/
Okay, here's another. Couldn't resist. NYC police, fire & sanitation get a $12,000 a year bonus. (Yes, those sly sanitation workers glommed on to this because, well after all, they are in uniform too!)
http://thephiladelphiacitizen.com/2015/02/phillys-13th-check/
Okay, here's another. Couldn't resist. NYC police, fire & sanitation get a $12,000 a year bonus. (Yes, those sly sanitation workers glommed on to this because, well after all, they are in uniform too!)
From "Thechiefleader.com:"
Strike Back At ‘Empire’Fire Unions: Members Earned Their Pensions
Posted: Monday, June 22, 2015 5:00 pm | Updated: 5:02 pm, Mon Jun 22, 2015.
Uniformed Fire Officers Association President James Lemonda last week heartily defended the pensions of his retired members after the amounts—which averaged more than $100,000 a year for those who retired in 2014—were published online by the non-profit Empire Center for Public Policy.
The fiscally-conservative watchdog group was granted access to the data by a State Supreme Court Justice in April after a four-year tussle with the UFOA, which sued to keep it private. The union claimed the release would violate members’ privacy.
Monday, June 22, 2015
Great Letter that tells it like it is!
This is a terrific letter about the greed of public sector unions. I couldn't have said it better myself!
http://www.thedailyjournal.com/story/opinion/readers/2015/04/27/letter-public-workers-driven-greed/26462281/
http://www.thedailyjournal.com/story/opinion/readers/2015/04/27/letter-public-workers-driven-greed/26462281/
So, once we started to spend time with the other public sector workers, we became privy to all sorts of information that has been going completely under the radar of all those poor suckers in the private sector, like the ones flying up and down, or standing still, on the LIE or Sunrise Highway, trying to get to and from work so they can pay their outrageous taxes and get very little in the way of services in return.
These poor suckers have no idea that there exists an alternate universe of highly paid workers, who can rarely be fired, and who have nothing but raises and benefits in their future. They don't really want you to find out about them, because if you knew, you would be OUTRAGED! But I am going to help you to become OUTRAGED, because OUTRAGE is the first step in your education, and you must be educated, if you want a future for yourselves and your children!
Every week I will pick a topic, a story, or an all important explanation in the litany of terms known only to those fortunate enough to be basking in the largesse of the public sector. These are things they don't want you to know about. If you're ignorant, they can continue to pick your pockets. If you are are aware of it all, you will be OUTRAGED, and won't stand for it anymore!!!
Tune in later this week for your first lesson. And please, make sure you are sitting down. This is not for the faint of heart, or pocketbook. Do you have the nerve to open the "Pandora's Box" and look at the beast that is the public sector? After all, some of them might be friends or family and you will never look at them the same way again, my friend! Beware!!!
These poor suckers have no idea that there exists an alternate universe of highly paid workers, who can rarely be fired, and who have nothing but raises and benefits in their future. They don't really want you to find out about them, because if you knew, you would be OUTRAGED! But I am going to help you to become OUTRAGED, because OUTRAGE is the first step in your education, and you must be educated, if you want a future for yourselves and your children!
Every week I will pick a topic, a story, or an all important explanation in the litany of terms known only to those fortunate enough to be basking in the largesse of the public sector. These are things they don't want you to know about. If you're ignorant, they can continue to pick your pockets. If you are are aware of it all, you will be OUTRAGED, and won't stand for it anymore!!!
Tune in later this week for your first lesson. And please, make sure you are sitting down. This is not for the faint of heart, or pocketbook. Do you have the nerve to open the "Pandora's Box" and look at the beast that is the public sector? After all, some of them might be friends or family and you will never look at them the same way again, my friend! Beware!!!
Friday, June 19, 2015
Why did I start this blog? Part III
So, there we were. Proud owners of a 2 bedroom townhouse across the street from the ocean in sunny FL. Okay, so it wasn't on the ocean, but we could walk across the street. Great. We did it! Now, the hard part, finding time to come down and enjoy. Well, we only got a couple of weeks, and a few long weekends in four years. The rest of the time we spent wishing we were there. But during our short stays, we started to clue in on something odd. Everyone else at the complex seemed to be retired. Some were older, yes, but many were our age or younger. How could this be?
We went to the pool one day, shortly after our purchase. Of course, everyone wanted to know who the new people were. They were asking a lot of questions which I took to mean that they were genuinely interested in getting to know us. The more we talked, the more puzzled they seemed to be. This went on with each visit, as though the residents had decided that something here didn't compute. Finally, one day while floating around in the pool, a woman basically asked me if we had a pension. "No" I replied, "we don't have pensions." "YOU DON'T HAVE A PENSION?" she barked as she nearly fell off the styrofoam noodle she was bobbing up and down on. I began to realize why we had been of such interest to them. We weren't one of them. We worked in the private sector. I wasn't a teacher. My husband wasn't retired FNDY, NYPD or Sanitation.
After that, our neighbors just seemed to accept us but unfortunately, it made us privy to lots of conversations among this group. We heard things no private sector worker should every have to hear!
To be continued....
We went to the pool one day, shortly after our purchase. Of course, everyone wanted to know who the new people were. They were asking a lot of questions which I took to mean that they were genuinely interested in getting to know us. The more we talked, the more puzzled they seemed to be. This went on with each visit, as though the residents had decided that something here didn't compute. Finally, one day while floating around in the pool, a woman basically asked me if we had a pension. "No" I replied, "we don't have pensions." "YOU DON'T HAVE A PENSION?" she barked as she nearly fell off the styrofoam noodle she was bobbing up and down on. I began to realize why we had been of such interest to them. We weren't one of them. We worked in the private sector. I wasn't a teacher. My husband wasn't retired FNDY, NYPD or Sanitation.
After that, our neighbors just seemed to accept us but unfortunately, it made us privy to lots of conversations among this group. We heard things no private sector worker should every have to hear!
To be continued....
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
GILT-EDGED PENSIONS!
From FORBES 2009:
A link to the entire article can be found at the bottom of the post.
"Michael Hirth, a 55-year-old fireman in Hallendale Beach, Fla., has a nifty deal known as a Deferred Retirement Option Program. It enables public employees to “retire” and stay in their old jobs. Hirth is receiving both a pension and a salary for the same job. He’s even allowed to direct income from the pension into a fund that guarantees an 8% return as long as he works. (The only way ordinary folk get guaranteed returns is with something backed by the U.S. Treasury. Treasurys pay 0% to 3%.) If the fund fails to achieve that hurdle, taxpayers will just have to kick in the difference."
"Steven Beatty is the kind of social studies teacher you hope your kid gets. The Bridgewater, N.J. high school instructor has a solid command of history, took grad school courses on his own time and clearly loves teaching. But Beatty isn’t in it just for the students. At 38 he earns $80,000 a year, nearly double New Jersey’s average, and pays only 5.3% of that toward his pension. He can retire at 60 with full benefits and, should he so desire, continue teaching part-time."
Article from 2009 is just as relevant today-maybe more so!
From FORBES 2009:
A link to the entire article can be found at the bottom of the post.
"Michael Hirth, a 55-year-old fireman in Hallendale Beach, Fla., has a nifty deal known as a Deferred Retirement Option Program. It enables public employees to “retire” and stay in their old jobs. Hirth is receiving both a pension and a salary for the same job. He’s even allowed to direct income from the pension into a fund that guarantees an 8% return as long as he works. (The only way ordinary folk get guaranteed returns is with something backed by the U.S. Treasury. Treasurys pay 0% to 3%.) If the fund fails to achieve that hurdle, taxpayers will just have to kick in the difference."
"Steven Beatty is the kind of social studies teacher you hope your kid gets. The Bridgewater, N.J. high school instructor has a solid command of history, took grad school courses on his own time and clearly loves teaching. But Beatty isn’t in it just for the students. At 38 he earns $80,000 a year, nearly double New Jersey’s average, and pays only 5.3% of that toward his pension. He can retire at 60 with full benefits and, should he so desire, continue teaching part-time."
Article from 2009 is just as relevant today-maybe more so!
Monday, June 15, 2015
THE TRUTH IS THAT PUBLIC SECTOR WORKERS KNOW THAT IT IS MUCH, MUCH HARDER TO REFORM THE PENSIONS AND OTHER BENEFITS FOR WORKERS WHO HAVE ALREADY RETIRED THAN IT IS TO CHANGE THE GAME FOR CURRENT EMPLOYEES.
Early retirement doesn't SAVE the taxpayer money. It only pushes the payments into the future. Why on earth would anyone believe that giving a public sector worker a financial incentive to retire earlier, and thus collect a pension longer, saves anything? It also costs more to replace a retired worker for a longer period of time and so eclipses any so-called savings from hiring a worker at a lower tier of salary and benefits. Anything else is a lie perpetrated by greedy unions and politicians.
The unions also defend the practice by putting forward "studies" that show it's also a good thing for the students, because, after all, "it's really all for the kids."
The unions also defend the practice by putting forward "studies" that show it's also a good thing for the students, because, after all, "it's really all for the kids."
Here's an example from an article in 2014. It's long but you get the idea if you only read the first few paragraphs.
Saturday, June 13, 2015
I just don't get it.
This morning I decided to google "Pension Envy." As you might guess, I came across everything from data manipulated to support why public sector workers are not to be envied, to personal posts from teachers whining about how low their salaries are and how they deserve the pension because they make nothing while working compared to all those private sector workers and their big FAT BONUSES those private sector employers are lavishing on us!! BONUSES? What planet are they on?? Anyway, here is an excerpt from one whiney teacher blog called Certain Absurdity. After reading, check out another post by the same blogger under "TRAVEL ADVENTURES." I guess we can do the same with all those BONUSES we are getting!
Pension Envy
November 10, 2013 — certainabsurdity
"I am a public employee. I have a defined benefit pension plan. I deserve it.
I have been teaching for almost 18 years. It has taken that long to get to a salary that reflects how hard a work and what I deserve. Fresh college graduates in finance and various other fields are starting out pretty close to what has taken me 18 years to work up to. I work hard. I am vilified by the public. Yet, they think that I don’t deserve my pension. And because they are taxpayers, they think that they have a right to this opinion.
As a public employee, I have taken a lower salary with the promise that when I retire, I will be able to live at a hopefully comfortable level until I die. This level would be approximately 72% of my average high-five salary years. Provided that I work 38 years in my current job. I do not get the benefit of EVER getting a bonus. I know of people whose bonus is more than my yearly salary. Is it fair? Who knows? But I’m not saying that they’re not going to get it. I chose this profession because I like kids. I find it stimulating. I am challenged. I am super frustrated at times. But that just makes me more determined to figure out a way to reach that kid."
Now from the TRAVEL post:
"Holy week in Andalusia, Spain is a big deal. I just witnessed it over Spring Break. It’s an incredible experience. Every night there are processions through the streets of Nazarenos with usually two pasos. There are marching bands, one before Jesus and one after the Virgin Mary. And these processions last for hours and bring tourists and Spanairds alike to the region.
If you recall, I was in Spain this past summer with my sister. Normally I wouldn’t go back to the same country so soon, but since our Spring break fell over Holy Week, it was an opportunity too good to pass up. I traveled with my friend, Margaret, this time. Margaret is Catholic, and knows a lot about the various saints and practices of the faith. Since I’m Lutheran, this was quite helpful. Margaret is also quite the foodie, so I’ll credit her with my new-found love of salmorejo too.
We spent 3 nights in Granada, 1 in Cordoba and 4 in Seville. We enjoyed beautiful Spring weather and walked nearly 150,000 steps during our journey. That’s 61.35 miles, for those of you who would like a more familiar measurement."
The blog post moves on to Barcelona, etc etc. You get it. A fab trip to Europe during the summer break. SUMMER BREAK? What's that?
Friday, June 12, 2015
Check this out:
You may have been following all the ranting by Rhode Island pensioners who are upset over so-called pension reforms in the state. They are really only getting a bit less of more. Yes, read it again. It makes sense. Two of the retired teachers in the article retired in 2007 and 2009 received over $56,000 in 2010, the last year for pension data in the database and were allocated 1.79 million dollars and 1.39 million dollars respectively as their total payout. I am quite sure they are getting way more than they put in; and then there is the healthcare....
Anyway, check out this database. By the way, many states now have databases where you can look up salaries and pensions for public sector workers. (See the NY State Database link to the right.) As a taxpayer, you owe it to yourself and your family to get to know your state's database and to lobby for one if your state doesn't have it.
Just make sure to sit down before you look!
http://ri-pensions.findthedata.com
Anyway, check out this database. By the way, many states now have databases where you can look up salaries and pensions for public sector workers. (See the NY State Database link to the right.) As a taxpayer, you owe it to yourself and your family to get to know your state's database and to lobby for one if your state doesn't have it.
Just make sure to sit down before you look!
http://ri-pensions.findthedata.com
Why did I start this blog? Part II
So, I opened the Pandora's Box when I came to Florida. Slaving away on Long Island, going to work in the dark, coming home in the dark, driving through ice, snow, rain, etc., my husband and I had no idea we were the Morlocks, toiling under our mighty tax burden so that the Eloi could sit out the horrid weather in sunny Florida, sipping mojitos on the beach. What a wake up call that was!
Now, I always thought that old people retired and went to Florida. They lived in mobile home parks or modest houses. A small place to escape the arthritic cold. I also thought I would probably be one of those old people too.
In 2009, my husband and I went to Florida to purchase some real estate as an investment and get a head start on our retirement. We felt pretty good about our position. We didn't fancy trips, we didn't remortgage our house in the wild times, we didn't buy new cars, boats, toys like many of our friends. We paid down our mortgage and put money away; and we didn't lose our heads during the crash of 2007-2008. We didn't pull our money out of our retirement accounts like many of our friends. It was nerve-wracking, but we held on, firm in the belief that things would recover. We also sold a home on LI in 2009. Everyone thought we were nuts, but we knew that if we wanted to get rid of it, we needed to act then and we did as well as if we sold the house today. We thought the market was nowhere near the bottom in 2009 and we were right. People still thought recovery was just around the corner.
Most importantly, we had to be frugal because we had no pensions. I had a small 403b and a profit sharing plan with my company. The profit sharing plan was based on how the organization did financially each year. Some years, as in the post recession years, no money was put into the plan. At most, it was a modest amount. I worked for a small non-profit and the healthcare costs were really taking their toll. When I started, the company paid the entire premium for a very good family plan with $5.00 co-pays and prescriptions. By the time I left I was paying a large portion of the premium for a plan with a $15,000 deductible. Dental and vision coverage had been stopped years before. My husband was self-employed for 30 years, then he went to work for a small engineering company that offered a 401k with no match at all.
So off we went to Florida, thinking we must be successful because financial restraint and frugality were the keys to a secure retirement, right?
MORE NEXT TIME, STAY TUNED!
Thursday, June 11, 2015
Great article on how Runaway Public Pensions are burdening the next generation.
Read this great article in today's IRA Report:
http://www.iramarketreport.com/young-workers-on-hook-for-public-pension-debt/513/http://www.iramarketreport.com/young-workers-on-hook-for-public-pension-debt/513/
http://www.iramarketreport.com/young-workers-on-hook-for-public-pension-debt/513/http://www.iramarketreport.com/young-workers-on-hook-for-public-pension-debt/513/
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
Why did I start this blog?
Why would a professional woman from Long Island who worked in the non-profit world for 18 years care enough about public pensions to start a blog about them? Why, indeed.
Well, let's start by saying that I didn't always care, because I wasn't always aware. But having opened the proverbial Pandora's Box on the subject, there was no going back to those balmy days of blissful ignorance. With my new-found miserable knowledge came the overwhelming urge to shove everyone's else's head in Pandora's Box, because misery loves company, right?
What if I told you that there exists, right here, right now, in this dimension, an alternate universe, along side your miserable one; filled with happy workers whose pay is generous, who are showered with so much sick and vacation time that they can never use it all and will be able to cash it out when they retire? Workers who know that raises and promotions are guaranteed, and there is pretty much no way they can lose their job? These happy workers are secure in the fact their healthcare costs are paid for, and that their health plans don't contain scary things like high deductibles or huge co-pays. They can visit the dentist whenever they like, they can get new glasses whenever they need them, and sooner, because if their plan says they can have four pairs a year, well you can be sure they will get what's coming to them.
Many of these happy workers also look forward to retiring in their 50's or even their 40's with a generous pension that is guaranteed for life, along with healthcare for themselves and their families. They can look forward to COLA increases on their pensions too, which will come in handy when they start to snowbird in Florida. After all, the house in Yonkers, the condo in Palm Beach, all those trips on the auto train and the cruises out of Ft. Lauderdale cost money!
Well, after my discovery of this wonderful alternate universe, and the accompanying green-eyed monster, my next question was, "how is this possible?" Where does this money come from?
MORE TO FOLLOW SO STAY TUNED!
Well, let's start by saying that I didn't always care, because I wasn't always aware. But having opened the proverbial Pandora's Box on the subject, there was no going back to those balmy days of blissful ignorance. With my new-found miserable knowledge came the overwhelming urge to shove everyone's else's head in Pandora's Box, because misery loves company, right?
What if I told you that there exists, right here, right now, in this dimension, an alternate universe, along side your miserable one; filled with happy workers whose pay is generous, who are showered with so much sick and vacation time that they can never use it all and will be able to cash it out when they retire? Workers who know that raises and promotions are guaranteed, and there is pretty much no way they can lose their job? These happy workers are secure in the fact their healthcare costs are paid for, and that their health plans don't contain scary things like high deductibles or huge co-pays. They can visit the dentist whenever they like, they can get new glasses whenever they need them, and sooner, because if their plan says they can have four pairs a year, well you can be sure they will get what's coming to them.
Many of these happy workers also look forward to retiring in their 50's or even their 40's with a generous pension that is guaranteed for life, along with healthcare for themselves and their families. They can look forward to COLA increases on their pensions too, which will come in handy when they start to snowbird in Florida. After all, the house in Yonkers, the condo in Palm Beach, all those trips on the auto train and the cruises out of Ft. Lauderdale cost money!
Well, after my discovery of this wonderful alternate universe, and the accompanying green-eyed monster, my next question was, "how is this possible?" Where does this money come from?
MORE TO FOLLOW SO STAY TUNED!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)