Pension Tension
With state pension problems piling up, a Pittsburgh newspaper looks at growing costs of generous state pensions.
Pension Tension
John Baer, Daily News Political Columnist
If you're on a pension or wish you were, or if you put a chunk of every paycheck into a retirement plan, you probably shouldn't read this.
It could cause you a little tension.
It is just another example of how your isolated, greedy state legislature takes care of itself at the risk and ruination of others.
And it's a classic example of bad decisions coming home to roost.
Back in 2001, then-Gov. Ridge and lawmakers worked out a state pension boost givng legislators a 50 percent hike in benefits and other state and school retirees a 25 percent hike.
Guess who pays? Yep. Taxpayers are on the hook this year for more than $1 billion, an annual amount projected to grow to $4 billion by 2016 as more and more state employees and teachers retire.
Your current governor and legislature say this expense cannot be sustained, so they plan someday, some way to do something about it.
We all should live so long.
Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports the number of state and school retirees pulling $100,000-plus per year pension payments doubled in the last five years to 658 lucky oldsters.
And some of our former public servants get more than $300,000 per year.
(I said you probably shouldn't read this.)
Top takers include 55 former judges and court employees, 8 former lawmakers, 103 former Penn State professors and administrators and 300-plus former public school administrators.
The paper lists some top dogs.
Stephen J. Benkovic, retired PSU chem prof: $443,879 per year.
Irene Mitchell, retired East Stroudsburg University arts prof: $332,699 per year.
Gary C. Schultz, retired PSU veep awating trial related to Sandusky case: $330,699
(And not long ago, I offered the example of former Philly state Rep. Frank Oliver: $286,118.)
So, you know, next time around you might want to consider public service as a career choice.
This is one of the next financial bubbles our country will have to deal with. Politicians like Ed Rendell made AWFUL deals for the tax payers. Bottom line is you cannot have a city/state worker put .05 or .06% of their earnings into a pot then promise them a 10% return on their money. (With no possibility for loss) That math works out to be someone investing 90k (over 25 yrs) & taking out over a million $$'s. Its absolute madness. & it will be an ugly situation for tax payers.— Kennedy- kennedy, can't you read? tom ridge did it, not ed rendell.— jaz
- My solution to this out of control government pension disaster is to cap all pension payments to $25,000 per year. This would apply to all city, state and federal workers. Problem solved.— BackToReality
- MY mistake - but regardless, Rendell did us no favors by implementing DROP either. I really wasn't trying to make this a D vs R thing. (Like most philly.com commenters) The reality is they're both NO GOOD. Both sides have over-promised at our peril.— Kennedy
John is the author of the book "On The Front Lines of Pennsylvania Politics: Twenty-Five Years of Keystone Reporting" (The History Press, 2012). Reach John at baerj@phillynews.com.
