Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Pension costs sky high

From the NY Post:

Taxpayers kick in an average $8.60 for every dollar that city employees contribute to their pensions, a sweet deal costing the Big Apple a bundle.

Even though their own retirements are less secure, as private businesses have shifted from traditional pensions to riskier savings plans like 401(k)s, taxpayers' support for rock-solid public employee pension plans is growing. That's because pension funds are guaranteed to grow 8 percent a year -- and taxpayers have to make up the difference if they don't.

Taxpayers' share of city pension costs has skyrocketed more than 900 percent in the last decade -- from $703.1 million in 2000 to $6.5 billion in 2009, according to the city comptroller's annual reports.
Pension Explosion

The cost is expected to hit $7.6 billion this fiscal year and $8.7 billion next year.


Bloomberg's looking into it.

9 comments:

Patrick Sweeney said...

The government needs to go to the same system that most private employers have adopted: defined contribution. You pay out the tax-deferred cash to the employee over the period the employee is there, and when the term of employment is over, the liability of the company to the employee is over. I have explained this to some government employees who were shocked and really didn't know there was a system other than defined benefits (i.e. traditional pension)

Anonymous said...

Corporations are no longer offerring pensions as a benefit and those who do are stopping them for good and offering 401k instead.

Why government employees are more valued than private employer employees is beyond me. Government should immediately halt all employee pension immediately!

Anonymous said...

Unions are killing this city.

Anonymous said...

Unions are killing this city.

--------------------------------

Their killing the nation.


You cant keep having lower value employees (which are what union employees are: less skilled, less educated) taking more and more while lobbying for less and less workload and responsibilities.

I know a school bus driver who works from 7:30am to 9:15am and then goes home with an 8-hour paycheck.

A nation CANNOT SURVIVE with that.

Anonymous said...

HERE COME THE GREEKS.........

Anonymous said...

Don't forget to mention the schoolbus driver starts at 6am then goes back at 2pm and works till about 530 pm.he also does not work for the city and is in local 1181(if ,in ,fact he works for a union bus company).Job sucks,i did it for 3 weeks and quit.

Anonymous said...

Real income for the American middle class has been dropping since 1973... can't blame the unions for that. Jobs leaving US shores for countries paying a fraction of our wages... can't blame unions for that unless you advocate for a race to the bottom. Public revenues fell into the cellar because of millionaire financier-engineered financial debacle... can't blame the unions for that.

You have to wonder why the NY Post goes after the civil service that has bargained for its benefits with far more vitriol than the Wall Street masters of the universe that really got us into this mess.

Engaging in class warfare, maybe?

Anonymous said...

when the private sector taxpayer no longer has the income to pay for the out of control union wages and benefits,we will all be in the same sinking ship.

the mta/twu union strike during Christmas week in n.y.c. should have sounded the warning bell that these irresponsible ,criminal ,so-called leaders belong in jail.paying the u.f.t.,who work 180 days per year , $50,000 to 100,000 per year pensions is nuts.

civil service employees do not need the 8% guarantee,paid by the public,when their pension values drop. the private sector does not have this.

unions finance the politicians election campaigns,so the pols naturally screw the taxpayers with huge tax increases to pay more to the civil service employees benefits.

much of wall street contributes to the liberal/democrat party. see : http://fundrace
huffingtonpost.com

Anonymous said...

http://fundrace.
huffingtonpost.com