Dick Jacobsen

The San Francisco Sunday Chronicle carried an article in its “Business Report” section entitled ‘Pension too high or low? Depends on your stance‘. The writer offers an analysis that compares the average pensions of “full career” retirees to the average of all pensions paid to all retirees.  The article also talks of incongruities in the pension systems where retirees gleaned retirement benefits six figures higher than their salaries when they were working, a rarity, but it happens and it shouldn’t.

When it comes time for raises, the Public sector workers always compare their salary to that of other comparable Public workers in other areas and raise themselves accordingly. This is akin to the fox guarding the hen house. The whole exercise is a race to enhance their salaries, especially the last or highest three years, in order to peak their retirement benefit. Their retirement benefit is 90% of the average of their highest three annual salaries including bonuses, and any other enhancements they might have received in those three years. The formula for the 90% is calculated as 3% for every year of service, up to 30 years, allowing many to retire between 50 and 55 years of age, a burden that Private sector taxpayers have to bear.

Another article I read a few weeks back compared the average salaries of our local area Public sector workers ($124,000 per year) to that of the same local Private sector workers ($69,000). It doesn’t seem right to me that the Public sector salaries are double those of the people being taxed to pay the Public sector salaries.

The fix is simple in concept, but very complex in administration. Public sector retirement age should be the same as Social Security. Public Sector workers should pay equivalent amounts toward their retirement as do Private sector workers. Buying early retirement schemes should be eliminated in the Public sector. Retirement amounts should be formulated on a 60% basis, or on a an analysis of the percentage that the average Private sector retiree receives, which in my case was around 52%, comparing my current income to my last year of work income.

In any case Public sector retirement payments are unsustainable as they stand, and need immediate attention by the Federal and State Governments. As it is, so many of our tax dollars go toward Public retiree income, that standard Government services like Law Enforcement, Infrastructure Maintenance, Road and other Transportation Construction, Education, Parks Maintenance, etc., go begging and don’t get done. We have “Government” in order to supply the services. When the “Government” costs so much that they can no longer supply the services, then we really no longer need “Government”. Get involved.