The Right Scoop links to an interview conducted on FOX NEWS, an employee of Delphi whose pension was lost in its entirety because it was non union. This of course happened while the unions were unlawfully bailed out in violation of bankruptcy law, their unsecured loans getting precedence over secured lenders. A growing story, but as usual the mainstream media ignores.
Showing posts with label Union Pensions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Union Pensions. Show all posts
Friday, August 10, 2012
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Six-figure pensions for retired South Florida city employees costing taxpayers millions
From: Sun Sentinel.com
After more than two decades working in Miami Beach's 911 call center, Pamela Kindle wanted her golden parachute.
Her $60,000-a-year job would provide a modest pension for retirement, but Kindle wanted more. So, she launched into a "marathon" of overtime, racking up an extra 50 hours of work a week during her final two years on the job.
When she retired in 2002, Kindle did so with a $150,000 taxpayer-supported pension. Yearly increases have pumped up her pension to more than $182,000.
"I earned my money," said Kindle, 63, who says the city helped create her pension by perennially understaffing the call center. "I worked hard."
By the time she reaches her mid-70s, the city's pension fund will have paid her $4,074,000 in her golden years.
Scores of South Florida city employees, particularly police and firefighters, have recently retired in their mid to late 40s or early 50s with six-figure pensions, the result of generous pay and benefits packages that are now costing taxpayers tens of millions of dollars a year.
The deals were agreed to by elected officials in negotiations with politically potent employee unions -- especially police and fire unions, whose members face the biggest risks but enjoy higher pay and better benefits.
During the real estate boom, there was plenty of money for pay raises and perks, even as employers in the private sector were ratcheting down health benefits and phasing out traditional pensions in favor of self-funded 401(k) plans.
Then it all went sour.
Cities, financially kneecapped by plunging property-tax revenues, stock market reversals and their own generosity, found pension costs eating up a rapidly growing chunk of their operating budgets -- one out of every five dollars in Miami Beach, one out of four in Hollywood.
Those cities and others are now trying to take back what they promised. That has sent employees rushing toward the exits. A year ago, as pay and pension reductions imposed by Miami's elected officials were about to take effect, more than 250 employees retired on the same day. The same thing is happening in Hollywood, where voters last week approved dramatic reductions in employee pensions.
What it really means to retire
Actually, in municipal government-speak, "retiring" doesn't mean leaving the job now. In another perk not enjoyed by private-sector employees, it often means entering a years-long transition phase called the Deferred Retirement Option Program, or DROP, during which the worker remains on the job, earning both a salary and a pension benefit that is held in a savings account.
How generous are city pensions? More generous than pensions paid through the state's retirement system, although the state has hundreds of six-figure pensioners. The Florida Retirement System, likened to a millstone weighing down the state budget, last year paid out an average yearly retirement benefit of $18,000.
By contrast:
• In Miami Beach, of the 38 police and firefighters who began receiving a pension in fiscal year 2009, 26 did so in their 40s with an average retirement benefit of $104,000 -- and a promised annual increase of 2.5 percent.
• In Coral Gables, pension formulas that factor in hundreds of hours of overtime in addition to base pay and bonuses are allowing many to retire, like Kindle, with pensions significantly larger than their base salary. Examples: Fire Lt. Jeffrey Fabyan, 48, whose $106,000 pension dwarfs his $81,000 base salary; fire Lt. Donald Griffiths, 50, whose base pay is $81,720 but whose pension is $108,606; and police Sgt. John McRae, 49, whose salary is $79,414 but who will collect a $99,297 pension.
• Of the 154 Miami police and firefighters who "retired" (actually entered the DROP) on Sept. 26, 2010, 55 have annual pensions in excess of $100,000, 10 of them greater than $150,000. The latter group includes Chief Fire Officer Ronald Khawly, who transitioned into retirement at 52 with a pension of $181,856; Assistant Fire Chief Veldora Arthur (44, with a pension of $166,687) and Chief Fire Officer Joe Burns (54, with a pension of $165,910).
After more than two decades working in Miami Beach's 911 call center, Pamela Kindle wanted her golden parachute.
Her $60,000-a-year job would provide a modest pension for retirement, but Kindle wanted more. So, she launched into a "marathon" of overtime, racking up an extra 50 hours of work a week during her final two years on the job.
When she retired in 2002, Kindle did so with a $150,000 taxpayer-supported pension. Yearly increases have pumped up her pension to more than $182,000.
"I earned my money," said Kindle, 63, who says the city helped create her pension by perennially understaffing the call center. "I worked hard."
By the time she reaches her mid-70s, the city's pension fund will have paid her $4,074,000 in her golden years.
Scores of South Florida city employees, particularly police and firefighters, have recently retired in their mid to late 40s or early 50s with six-figure pensions, the result of generous pay and benefits packages that are now costing taxpayers tens of millions of dollars a year.
The deals were agreed to by elected officials in negotiations with politically potent employee unions -- especially police and fire unions, whose members face the biggest risks but enjoy higher pay and better benefits.
During the real estate boom, there was plenty of money for pay raises and perks, even as employers in the private sector were ratcheting down health benefits and phasing out traditional pensions in favor of self-funded 401(k) plans.
Then it all went sour.
Cities, financially kneecapped by plunging property-tax revenues, stock market reversals and their own generosity, found pension costs eating up a rapidly growing chunk of their operating budgets -- one out of every five dollars in Miami Beach, one out of four in Hollywood.
Those cities and others are now trying to take back what they promised. That has sent employees rushing toward the exits. A year ago, as pay and pension reductions imposed by Miami's elected officials were about to take effect, more than 250 employees retired on the same day. The same thing is happening in Hollywood, where voters last week approved dramatic reductions in employee pensions.
What it really means to retire
Actually, in municipal government-speak, "retiring" doesn't mean leaving the job now. In another perk not enjoyed by private-sector employees, it often means entering a years-long transition phase called the Deferred Retirement Option Program, or DROP, during which the worker remains on the job, earning both a salary and a pension benefit that is held in a savings account.
How generous are city pensions? More generous than pensions paid through the state's retirement system, although the state has hundreds of six-figure pensioners. The Florida Retirement System, likened to a millstone weighing down the state budget, last year paid out an average yearly retirement benefit of $18,000.
By contrast:
• In Miami Beach, of the 38 police and firefighters who began receiving a pension in fiscal year 2009, 26 did so in their 40s with an average retirement benefit of $104,000 -- and a promised annual increase of 2.5 percent.
• In Coral Gables, pension formulas that factor in hundreds of hours of overtime in addition to base pay and bonuses are allowing many to retire, like Kindle, with pensions significantly larger than their base salary. Examples: Fire Lt. Jeffrey Fabyan, 48, whose $106,000 pension dwarfs his $81,000 base salary; fire Lt. Donald Griffiths, 50, whose base pay is $81,720 but whose pension is $108,606; and police Sgt. John McRae, 49, whose salary is $79,414 but who will collect a $99,297 pension.
• Of the 154 Miami police and firefighters who "retired" (actually entered the DROP) on Sept. 26, 2010, 55 have annual pensions in excess of $100,000, 10 of them greater than $150,000. The latter group includes Chief Fire Officer Ronald Khawly, who transitioned into retirement at 52 with a pension of $181,856; Assistant Fire Chief Veldora Arthur (44, with a pension of $166,687) and Chief Fire Officer Joe Burns (54, with a pension of $165,910).
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