Note: See Top 100 table in separate post titled: Top 100 State Pensions 2013.
10 Amazing Facts about Illinois State Pensions:
1. Based upon current rules more than 25,000 public employees will have $100K plus pensions by 2020.
2. Every one of these 9,954 public “Servants” is a taxpayer funded multi-millionaire.
A $100,000 pension at age 55 will pay out $4.7 million in cash over the normal life expectancy of a 55-year old including the 3% Cost-of-Living-Allowance built into the pension law.
3. Illinois taxpayers on the hook for at least $750 billion Dollars in taxes to pay for state pensions and retiree health care thru 2045.
That’s about $136,000 per Illinois household over next 35 years. That’s $136,000 of your money for other people’s retirement, money you will not have available for your own retirement.
4. Top 100 average pension is over $242,000/yr.
5. Every one of the Top 100 pensions is greater than Presidential pensions.
6. Top 100 SURS retirees in 2013 average 29 years worked, $233,000 pension.
Compare that to 44 years to retire with the $27,876 maximum Social Security pension.
7. One SURS employee worked 5 years, received $130,000 pension. See here.
8. Top three pensions of $439,672, $429,150 and $408,852 exceed president Obama’s salary of $400,000.
9. Three “Public Servants” pull down pensions of more than $400,000.
10. More than 40 retirees have pensions greater than $100,000 after working less than 20 years.
Should part-time public employees and those with abbreviated careers get 6-figure pensions from taxpayers?
Pension reform must include all 970,000 current members, not just future members.
Just lowering pensions of future employees leaves $100’s of billions of excess pension taxes to be paid on current members by Illinois hard-pressed taxpayers.
Taxpayers should not have to make millionaires out of part-time employees.
If we define “full-time employee” as someone who works 12 months a year for at least 40 years, then only 2% of all those who have $100,000 pensions meet that definition. Compare that with 45 full time years to get $30,156 max Social Security at age 66.
The Unsustainable Must Be Made Sustainable: Social Security and 401K For All Public Employees, COLA suspension and taxing pensions must have first steps.
Illinois provides a great example of how public sector workers retire earlier and with greater pensions than private sector workers. Why should public sector employees pay 8% to retire with a superior pension at age 55 when private sector employees pay 11% (Soc. Sec. + 401K) to retire with an inferior pension at age 66?
The excessive tax burden placed on the private sector worker requires him to work longer and accept less in retirement benefits. This is an inherently unfair and unsustainable approach and must be rectified to the benefit of the private sector worker.
Social Security and 401K for all workers, public and private is the only fair answer.
