Sound Off: Do You Support Cuomo's Pension Reform Plan?

Al 17 February 9, 2012 at 01:20 pm

Its hardly an attack on the middle class. It a help to the middle class who is saddled with funding these pensions with their taxes. I don't mind paying those good people a higher salary while they are actively working. I don't even mind paying for the lion's share of their healthcare costs while they are actively working. But I do mind paying for their retirement while I'm trying to pay for my own. Some of these folks go out with pensions that are larger than the salaries of those whose tax dollars pay for them. Mr, Trumka, I saw you and your people at the Occupy Wall Street epicenter. What happened to your support of the President's call for everyone to "pay their fair share"?

Jim February 9, 2012 at 01:24 pm

Cuomo want to eliminate a pension (which is employer funded) and replace it with a 401K (which is worker funded). As a government agency, NYS is allowed to offer 403b (another EMPLOYEE FUNDED) plans to employees in addition to their pensions.

Laurie February 9, 2012 at 02:19 pm

My problem with these pensions is how they inflate them using overtime. I think we can all agree that having a pension is a wonderful thing, but I don't think that the taxpayers should be burdened with paying out addtional funds toward pension payments for overtime work. The worker already enjoyed the benefit of the overtime, by getting a bigger check at the end of the week. Working in the private sector, I won't get a pension at all, but will be struggling to pay my taxes (some of which will be used for these inflated pensions). I keep hearing how the state and county workers are paid less and that is why they get all of these extra benefits. I can tell you that I don't make any more than my friends who work for the government and in addition I don't have all of these other benefits. I have to put as much of my pay into my 401k as I can, so that I wll have enough money to live when I retire. That argument just doesn't work anymore.

Fred Stewart February 9, 2012 at 04:06 pm

when you pay people for overtime, you are NOT paying another employee salary or benefits... overtime isn't always a bad thing...

joan senator February 10, 2012 at 08:23 pm

I am a retired NYS employee, and I can assure you that I don't make more with my pension than when I worked. In fact, it is roughly half of my last salary. There is a misconception being promulgated by our politicians that the taxpayers pay for the pensions. This is not true. The pension fund, contributed to by the employees, as well as the state, is invested, unfortunately, mostly in the stock market. In fact, the Bellport Outlet Mall(north side) was built using state pension money. (Not that we had any say in the investments, but that's another story.) As far as our health benefits, we pay for them out of our pensions. Nothing the state gives its current or retired employees is for free, coming out of taxpayer pockets, which by the way, I am also.

joan senator February 10, 2012 at 08:33 pm

I also would like to comment that like Billy Joel's song, we didn't light the fire. If you want to know where the waste in government is, look at all the private consultants being hired to replace those workers who were laid off. These are profit making entities, and so in the long run, cost the government more, And incidentally, most are either buddies or contributors to our politicians. Check out Joe Bruno and ex-Gov Pataki if you want to see why we are in the hole.

Laurie February 10, 2012 at 08:42 pm

As I previously stated, I don't have a problem with paying overtime when it is necessary, I have a problem with including it in the calculation for how much an employee will recieve for their pension.

Laurie February 10, 2012 at 09:05 pm

The way that these pensions are funded vary, depending on whether you are a state or county employee, as well as many other factors. The bottom line is that the pension benefits earned by state and local government workers generally have strong legal protections. So most experts see future taxpayers bearing the primary burden, resulting from current funding shortfalls. It is clear that the financial collapse reduced the value of their assets, leaving a substantial unfunded liability. New York and the local towns are going to have to come up with more money and that translates into taxpayer money. In addition, half of a state salary is still alot, compared to many of us that will have to rely on social security and the money in our 401K's. Unlike the public sector, employees in the private sector are at the mercy of their employers and thus have had much of their benefits reduced or taken away completely. The match on current 401K's is pitiful and have likely been reduced for the long haul due to the financial collapse.

James Turzer February 11, 2012 at 07:09 am

What about all the people who drop dead before they collect anything. It happens a lot, but you never hear it being discussed. Many people die before collecting Social Security, even though they may have been paying in for 50 years. At least with a 401K, that money belongs to the person who payed in to it (as opposed to some imaginary "lock box" fund that doesn't exist), and it can be passed down.

joan senator February 11, 2012 at 05:57 pm

Laurie,
That is true, but when the counties and towns were flush with money they didn't fund the pension fully. They were granted waivers so when the stock market took a hit they were told they needed to make up the funds. It is never the fault of the taxpayers, but of the politicians that keep getting elected to do as they please. As I stated in my second response, the state and municipal workers didn't light the fire. What the politicians now are doing is pitting one working group against another. Where people chose to work is exactly that, their choice. They will have to live with the results of these choices, good or bad. The other option is to change the systems that control us by choosing honest politicians, and keep changing them so they don't get entrenched. As for private employment, I don't understand why people's minds have been poisoned against unions.

joan senator February 11, 2012 at 05:59 pm

James,
If the deceased person has a widow and family, they receive his or her benefits. My brother died before age 62, and his widow receives his ss.

Laurie February 12, 2012 at 12:43 am

Joan, I agree that when the towns were flush they didn't fully fund the pension. I think as citizens, we can all agree that that was not the right thing to do. Unfortunately, I didn't have a say in their actions. My feelings about the way pension payouts have been negotiated started well before the recession. I am a very practical person and I don't believe that inflating pensions by putting in tons of overtime in the last few working years is fair or sustainable. When I chose to work in the private sector, pensions were being offered. After years of putting in the time, the rules have changed. Why is it that people that work in the public sector expect nothing to change, even with all of the financial difficulties, but the private sector is supposed to accept losing everything? I don't think that the majority of people are poisoned against the unions, as you have stated. I think that we are just tired of the unions asking for and getting more than what is fair for the overall good of the majority.

joan senator February 13, 2012 at 03:59 pm

Laurie,
I agree with you that inflated overtime for certain municipal, county and state workers in their final 3 years is unfair to all the others who do not have this advantage. As a yearly professional state employee, I and others were not given overtime pay. If we had to work overtime we were given compensatory time off. However, I maintain that it is the few who take advantage, who make the headlines and make us all seem greedy. As far as the shortfalls I agree that we the workers and taxpayers are not at fault. To correct problems not of our making on the backs of the workers seems highly unfair.

joan senator February 14, 2012 at 12:11 am

This is another example of top executives taking more for themselves as they penalize their workers. This comes from not so sunny Florida. It seems workers take the brunt all over. Check out this link.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/west-palm-beach-worker-unions-fight-insurance-hike-2170045.html

Bill L February 19, 2012 at 08:16 pm

Before politicians vote on an employees retirement benifits they should let the public see theirs. You would be amazed how a politicians makes out if only serving one term. Our politicians should practice what they preach. Shame on them