<p>In NY and other locations, skyrocketing school pension costs are overpowering the ability to maintain student services.</p>
<p>Last year our local school pension costs rose 42% and over the previous two years they rose over 50%. Meanwhile, staff and service cuts had to be made to pay for pension costs.</p>
<p>It’s unsustainable.</p>
<p>In my city, our former idiot mayor got conned in an early retirement deal with the police union. He signed an agreement that allowed pensions to be based upon the highest MONTH of income. All the guys who wanted early retirement all then larded up with overtime during the big annual fair. Many walked away with pensions that were larger than they actually made when they were working as cops. The city then had to offer a second set of cash incentives to have some of the eligible cops to NOT retire early - so that enough cops stayed on the job so the city could still function. </p>
<p>We are still paying for those mistakes.</p>
<p>Pensions are such a huge issue in the state of Illinois that their bond rating has been downgraded twice in the last year. The big blue states are in a bind. </p>
<p>As Tom has pointed out the issue is that these pensions have been unfunded for decades. But that doesn’t change the fact that the money just isn’t there. </p>
<p>It should be interesting to see what happens with this over the next ten years as municipalities go bankrupt.</p>
<p>Illinois will just continue to raise the state tax as they did a couple years ago. Thus, we will get to pay for these cancerous pensions several times over. As soon as the kids are out of high school, I am gone.</p>
<p>Parent! How funny. We left this year after the last kiddo started college!</p>
<p>A lot of people feel that way.</p>
<p>“In NY public employees have their own unions and have negotiated their own retirement benefits, each negotiation phase is typically called a tier.”</p>
<p>Not all NY state public employees are in unions. My H has never been in a union and he is not eligible to be in a union.</p>
<p>The pensions existed before there were unions and apply equally to union and non-union workers.</p>
<p>In NJ a teacher contributes 7% of their pay to the pension. Local property taxes are not used for teachers pensions. The State agreed to pick up the cost and then missed 20+ years of their contributions. They were supposed to contribute 4% of a teachers regular salary to the plan. In NJ overtime and other compensation are not used to calculate pensions.</p>
<p>Ah. There you are.</p>
<p>Perhaps the title of this thread should be changed to:
High Property Taxes in NYS Caused by Pension Costs</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>“The pensions existed before there were unions and apply equally to union and non-union workers.”</p>
<p>Yes, I know that. I just don’t want people to get the impression that all gov’t employees are unionized.</p>
<p>I just think people like me frequently do not understand that while these sensationalized abuses exist, these pensions were not funded for decades. It’s really not right. </p>
<p>Yes the abuses need to stop, obviously. But the true reason for such high cost is failure to fund, not the the retired workers.</p>
<p>Poetgrl, some of the problem is that historically some people have been allowed to retire with years of service and no age requirement. That is staggeringly expensive.</p>
<p>No. I know.</p>
<p>But, there are some public employees who need to be allowed to retire. I mean, FD, PD… These men and women can only do this job for so long.</p>
<p>How long does one have to be in the military before they reach a retirement pension they would be able to live on?</p>
<p>Also, I think we need to categorize. Maybe these really dangerous physical pensioneers ought not to be lumped into the same category as those who are sitting in an office?</p>
<p>We probably need some better thinking on this, iimho.</p>
<p>My husband is sanitation. Picks up 6 tons of garbage a day. So I know. But we still can’t afford to pay pensions and medical for that many decades no matter how much we value the employees. At least contributions have to be made.</p>
<p>“At least contributions have to be made.”</p>
<p>All NYS employees make contributions towards their retirement plan. I think my H did for 10 years.</p>
<p>Well the money isn’t going to be there. So there’s going to need to be some creative thinking about all of this. It’s a bind</p>
<p>I was talking about contributions by retirees for more of their benefits. And NYC workers contribute during employment only for a period of years, not the entire length of employment. Based on your posts, Emilybee, and your identification of his title a while ago, it seems that your husband is an older professional. That is vastly different in terms of cumulative pension and benefit costs than those of people like my husband’s brother in law who retired at 42 with an overtime inflated salary.</p>
<p>I don’t know about other states, but NYS Pension fund is making a lot of money in the market right now. Some states are pretty well funded. Some are not. </p>
<p>[The</a> state pension situation is improving, but most plan funding is still low](<a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2013/09/16/the-state-pension-situation-is-improving-but-most-plan-funding-is-still-low/]The”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2013/09/16/the-state-pension-situation-is-improving-but-most-plan-funding-is-still-low/)</p>
<p>ZM, he’s old, but not as old as me! 
</p>
<p>He also didn’t start working for the state until he was in his 30’s.</p>
<p>that’s good news for most pensioneers!</p>
<p>Not so much in Illinois, but I already knew that. I’m glad to see, though, that a big state like NY is going to be able to meet its obligations.</p>
<p>I feel very badly for those in Illinois, because I think they are going to end up with less when it all shakes out. Sad.</p>
<p>No! Not “old” just older! (A younger man? Cool!)</p>
<p>It’s just that some workers can retire so young that there can be 40 or more pension years. That is a long time, and the pensions are state and city tax free. I think pension costs have to be assessed as birth rates have fallen.</p>