[quote=ctr70][quote=paramount]Let’s be clear about one thing, I don’t think anyone is saying gov’t workers shouldn’t get a fair salary and savings plan; it’s just that right now what they get is unfair to the rest of us who have to actually pay for their benefits.
For the most part, there is no reason gov’t workers shouldn’t receive benefits on par with those of us in the private sector.
They deserve:
A decent salary
A 401k Retirement account with 50% up to 6% match A standard medical plan like the rest of us get: $20-$30 co-pays, 4k deductible, etc..
No Pensions No lifetime medical benefits
Sign them up for social security[/quote]
Excellent post Paramount, totally agree. I’m totally in favor of Gov workers getting excellent pay, excellent benefits, 401k plans on par with the private sector, but NO tax payer supported pensions and NO healthcare for life. Just like in Greece, these have to go. . . . [/quote]
LOL . . .
Piggs, would you consider these monthly healthcare premiums for SDCERA retirees who are ineligible for Medicare as “giveaways, taxpayer-supported or better than `standard?'”
The reality is that these “offerings” are so ridiculously expensive, even for the cheapest HMO, that only retirees with pre-existing conditions signed up for them because they couldn’t qualify for a reasonably-priced quality health plan on the open market and for no other reason. As soon as 2014 rolls around, I’m sure the current retirees subscribing to these overpriced, inferior plans are in hopes that they will no longer be at the mercy of being gouged from their “government retirement plan.”
The only difference between these plan rates and *exhorbitant* COBRA rates is that they can keep the plan longer than 18 mos!
For many, many SDCERA retirees, these healthcare premiums constitute over 50-75% of their monthly annuity . . . not counting an addt’l premium for any spouse or other dependents they wish to cover as well.
***
The City of SD negotiated a deal with its unions earlier this year
…Under the proposal, San Diego workers would be required for the first time to contribute part of their paychecks toward the benefit beginning in April 2012, when the deal kicks in.
Older workers would still be eligible for a benefit of $8,880 a year when they retire, but would have to pay $1,200 annually while employed to keep it. Other employees would have the option of a guaranteed $5,500 annual benefit at a cost while employed of $600 annually or a lump sum of roughly $100,000 for health expenses when they retire.
The deal also gives the city an out clause by allowing the City Council to modify retiree health care or eliminate it altogether after the first two years…
FERS retirees seem to have the highest employer participation in their FEHB selections. However, the (HMO) plans themselves leave something to be desired … in comparison with ALL plans, IMHO.
