wrote:
On Sat, 5 May 2018 12:37:49 -0700 (PDT), True North
wrote:

Bill

- show quoted text -

"A bunch in California. Â*They get 3% per year of service of their last yearsÂ*
salary. Â*Unfortunately the public service people spike their last yearsÂ*
income. Â* Do not take vacation for 5 years, add that to the final yearsÂ*
income, add all the overtime possible, any unpaid sick leave. Â*Any privateÂ*
company defined pension plan goes either on an average of the last 5 years,Â*
or excludes unpaid vacation and overtime and sick leave."Â*


Say what?
We didn't get to add overtime, vacation pay or anything else to boost up
the average of the last 5 years salary when calculating our
pension...just 2 percent per year of Service of that last average five
years salary. That is...70 percent was the highest for 35 years or more of Service.

You needed a stronger union.
It certainly helps when your union can negotiate from both sides of
the table. They have the union reps talking to the politicians who owe
them for getting their job.
The whole concept of government unions was thought to be illegal until
the middle of the 20th century. Now they are bankrupting cities and
states as those workers reach retirement age.
A big part of the problem is the politicians raided the pension plans,
if there was actually any money being set aside in the first place.
Now they have tens of thousands of retirees and nowhere near the
revenue to make those plans whole.


CalPers, the state retirement plan, said they could raise everyone to 3%
from 2% a year rate, without any additional funds during the dot.com boom.
F’n politicians went along. Now is something like an extra $80 million
annual contribution from the general fund. And state constitution says we
can not lower it. CalPers if it was a private trust fund would have the
managers in jail. They forecast a return rate every year. Mostly been
an 8% forecast. This year they dropped it to 7%. Annual returns have
been in the 4% or less for years.