For a “fair” comparison to private pay (which is impossible to do), you’d have to calculate a reasonably accurate NPV of the pension benefits and add to the present compensation on an annualized basis.
Maybe it is the equivalent of their being paid 10% more than their stated pay. Maybe it’s more or less. I don’t know. I do know that there is no possible way for me to pay myself in retirement anywhere near what I make now, even using all the available vehicles (401K, 403B, 457, Cash Balance Plan, Profit Sharing Plan, Social Security), plus, those things come out of my present pay – not something stacked on top of my present pay.
And then there is the spiking, double dipping, and disability deals. I assume the clever FFs go for the trifecta.
Public pensions are based on that last, spiked year, which probably is their highest pay ever. Private pensions are accumulated starting at your lowest earning years (in your 20s) and working your way up the pay scale, and possibly back down the pay scale.
