Firefighters, teachers face smaller safety net in retirement

Many new State workers, from police officers to the street cleaners — will retire with retirement benefits less than their counterparts.

Face inflated bills and strained budgets, 45 States have either cut pension benefits or increasing the mandatory retirement plan contributions to the employee, or both, since 2009.

While some of the changes and current state cuts employees and retirees, those most important affecting the new appointments. As a result, those who became firefighters, teachers, and garbage men or others working in the public sector after the reductions take effect you will end up with a much smaller nest egg.

Take California: State Highway Patrol officer hired before September 2010 can retire at age 50 after 30 years on the job with 90% of his salary. The average salary of $ 100,000, which will translate into a pension amount of $ 90,000 annually. But if that same officer hired this year instead, his annual retirement check at the age of 50 years would total $ 60,000. This difference of $ 900,000 over a 30-year retirement.

In New York, the private sector hired officer will retire in April 2012 or later with benefits that are approximately 11% less than someone hired in the month earlier, according to the National Conference of State legislatures. In Pennsylvania, hired in 2011 or later will contribute the same widget on their salaries to their pensions as those hired them but will receive about 20% less come retirement.

In Alabama, state employees hired this year will have to work longer to qualify for retirement benefits , which will be about 20 percent less than those promised workers recruited in the last year-despite the fact that new employees will contribute slightly less out of each paycheck.

Related: 25 best places to retire

Benefits for employees who are already on the payroll is contractually obligated to major changes will require making an agreement to the negotiating table. Some State laws until the bar reduce benefits for current employees, leaving major new appointments objectives for cost reduction.

"These people are not on the table; the Center for retirement research director Alicia Manel and Cannon Rebecca Frankel in January on cuts to a teacher's pension plans do not have a voice,".

Proponents say that reductions to trim excessive subsidies levels, especially among top earners who have retired six numbers, pension checks.

He said New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in a speech in Albany, New York, last year "take away from essential services which our constituents want and deserve (pensions). "We see how they've increased our tax rates across the State, money that comes out of the pockets of people who are working hard to try to make ends meet."

Related: what is a pension?

Many States expanded benefits when she flushes without saving extra cash to fund them. When the recession hit, the loss of major investments slipped along with the establishment of tax revenue can handle the burden of pensions that were much bigger than many States and cities.

In 2010, the gap between what was promised retirement benefits and the amount of money it set aside to finance their capacity of 1.38 trillion dollars, according to Pew.

Even now, critics face States pension cuts could leave millions of future retirees without a safety net. In some States, public sector workers are exempt from social security payments-making pension their main source of retirement security.

"Most of our members, their life savings, said Steven Kreisberg, Director of collective bargaining for the American Federation of State County and municipal employees.

In Louisiana, State Actuaries warned new workers switching to a cash balance pension plan where payments are determined largely by the performance of the invested contributions instead of a percentage of salary to the final factor-since the change reduces benefits for employees who have become disabled or for the family members of employees who die before reaching the age of retirement.

Actuaries wrote "because no social security coverage, this member might very well become a ward of the State because he or she has no other resources available.

The plan, scheduled to take effect in July, is now in limbo after the Baton Rouge judge ruled last month that the law was unconstitutional for not receiving the two-thirds vote of the State legislature. State Governor Bobby Jindal plans to appeal.

Related: couple plans for loss of pension

State pension cuts could also have an impact on attracting and retaining future public servants and the quality of applicants.

Before the recession, and studies have shown that public and private sector workers was roughly equal compensation in considering the salaries and benefits, said Jean-Pierre Aubry, Boston College Center "research". "But now, with the cuts, the staff should recognize that there is a chance that they might be getting a worse deal from the private sector," he said.

Manel wefrankl warned in their report on teachers pensions cuts, to cut pension benefits without increasing salaries can hurt the recruitment of quality teachers in public schools.

The report said that "reducing their compensation is not without cost. "It almost certainly will result in lower quality of applicants for one of the most important jobs in the country."

First published: 11 February 2013: 5: 47 am et

Finance; Investment; Business; Economics

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More older women are saying Bah! retirement

Reuters – 1 day

CHICAGO-Susan Damour fell into retirement. Tried it at the age of 64 years in 2008, together with her husband, Tim, who was 68. It took a year.

Foreign travel, cooking and knitting baby sweaters for the grandchildren were not such as to satisfy her. Tim, a former lawyer, was happy but that she hated.

"I'm an extrovert," says Damour. "I draw my strength from people, and I want to be in an environment, dealing with problems. Retirement was, as if they got into jail. "

Fortunately for her, the Obama administration soon after the elections in 2008, it again asks the General Services Administration, which manages the building contracts and contracts for the Government.

Served as the regional administrator of GSA'S Rocky Mountain region for the six States during the Clinton era, and she returned to the same position near the end of 2009.

Now 69, Damour loves his work, which often gets out of Denver and this time focuses on promoting environmental initiatives in government buildings, something she deeply cares about.

Damour's experience illustrates one of the most surprising the latest u.s. economic trends: the growing presence of women working beyond traditional retirement age, in their late 60s, 70s and beyond. It will be the fastest-growing segment of the work force in the next five years, according to the Ministry of labour.

The number of working women over the age of 65 rose 147 percent from 1977 to 2007; those over 75 have increased 172 percent, according to the Ministry's Bureau of labor statistics. Over the next five years, the number of older women in the workforce is growing at a pace faster than younger women and older men almost twice, the FBI said.

Some of the growth can be attributed to the economic drudgery, but many women say that they make for lost time after raising children or excluded from male dominated jobs in their younger days. Others can't imagine to turn back hard-won career gains.

Restoredzápal
Increasing life expectancy and the aging of the baby boom, partly explain the trend. Nearly 75 percent of 55-to 64rok olds will work in 2018, compared to 65% in 2008, forecasting, Northeastern University economist Barry Bluestone. Also think that 30 percent of Americans age 65 to 74 will work at this time, up from 25 percent in 2008.

Some scientists believe that something else is in the game. Elizabeth Fideler, a researcher at the Sloan Center on aging & work on Boston College and the author of "women at work: experts for over 60 and at work," studied cohort, and they believe that they are doing a slow career starts.

"Many of them face discrimination based on sex," he says. These women have entered adulthood in the 1950s and early 1960s, before the women's movement began when the career options that were close and we need help ads were separated by gender.

At that time, most working women flowed into nursing, secretarial, teaching or social work. Finally, many switched to other careers. It was a hard-won achievements.

"They're damned if they surrender," says Fideler. "He has reached the pinnacle of my career and I don't want to stop, even if their husbands have to retire."

This was true for Damour, who graduated from College in 1965 with a limited career options.

"I remember, says my mother, when I was a girl, that I wanted to be a judge, and she told me that I can't do that, because the girls are not lawyers."

A young couple, she worked in a series of low paying jobs, had a child and divorced at the age of 30 years. But the active role of volunteers in progressive political causes led her to a position in the 1974 gubernatorial campaign of Colorado Dick Lamm. This indirectly led to her first stint on the GSA.

These days, Damour works 40 to 50 hours a week.

"I don't get tired, because I'm a high-energy person and I love my job," he says.

She has to introduce, into retirement again-never?

"I am going to stay in this job, how long will they keep me, and then I'll be revisiting" says.

The Latebloomers
Ann Kaganoff, 76, is another late bloomer. Irvine, Calif., resident began her career as an elementary school teacher. Reading and language development in its 36 years, entered a doctoral study at the University of California at Santa Barbara.

"My dad said that I needed to be a teacher so that they will always be able to provide for themselves," he says. '' But in College, I discovered I was a good analytical thinkers, and it was exciting. "

It is not really career Kaganoff flew up to the year 1985, when at the age of 50 years old, started and ran a clinic for children with reading and learning problems, University of California at Irvine.

"I learn new things all the time," he says.

In 1992, the clinic is closed, a victim of budget cuts at the University. Today Kaganoff believes that it is on top of my professional growth with a private therapy practice in Irvine, and she herself stepping away any time soon.

"Experience is cumulative," he says. "Every time I go to a meeting, I realize the wealth of background to draw on."

Fideler corresponds to the profile. 70 and already at work on a follow-up book on the second fastest growing age group in the labour force: men over the age of 65.

Older men working for the same career success and revenue rewards that motivate women. But perhaps Fideler, you find that men simply grow tired of watching your wife to go to work every morning and spend the day alone.

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters.

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