conversation in school last night (fit in, wages, taxes)

[okaydorothy]

I have gone back to school. The conversation last night has me reeling. We are all adults and most are working. The subject was pensions.

One particular girl was asked about her pension and benefits. Well, she must be about 25. So anyhow, in her job working for the town she has lifetime benefits for her and her spouse. Not just that but overhearing another conversation(couldnt help it), she recently went to the doctor as her friend who does not have ins was sick. She described the symtoms, doctor said she looked ok but would write a script anyhow. She had it filled and went and gave it to her friend.

As a taxpayer we now have to pay twice ; once for the policy that is a sweetheart policy thanks to the unions, and again for the illegal here!!

It is high time that we stopped this abuse. When is enough enough ; I have had it with the amount of taxes I have to pay for salaries for cops, teachers, town workers, everybody and their uncle.

meanwhile My dh gets a handshake upon his retirement and just the money he paid into ; no lifetime benefits. What makes these people and their spouses to special ; the spouses never worked for the town or the county??

Can anyone understand that we cannot afford these things amymore. If you work 30 years, you get lifetime benefits ; but you could live another 40 years ; so basically you are gaining more than you worked!!

Thanks for listening ; Its just too much. we are being taxed out to the limit and more.

[alexei27]

Congrats on the decision to go back to school!

The pension thing is tough...how do you tell someone that they don't deserve it (although I agree there is no equality in pension for equal work across the board. And I bet her job paid for the night classes!).

But...the real problem is that this girl obvious doesn't even begin to understand the problem. Her pension and the false perscription underscore so many problems...and people just don't get it.

Thank you for posting this...its really frustrating.

[scottzilla]

Originally Posted by okaydorothy

I have gone back to school. The conversation last night has me reeling. We are all adults and most are working. The subject was pensions.

One particular girl was asked about her pension and benefits. Well, she must be about 25. So anyhow, in her job working for the town she has lifetime benefits for her and her spouse. Not just that but overhearing another conversation(couldnt help it), she recently went to the doctor as her friend who does not have ins was sick. She described the symtoms, doctor said she looked ok but would write a script anyhow. She had it filled and went and gave it to her friend.

As a taxpayer we now have to pay twice ; once for the policy that is a sweetheart policy thanks to the unions, and again for the illegal here!!

It is high time that we stopped this abuse. When is enough enough ; I have had it with the amount of taxes I have to pay for salaries for cops, teachers, town workers, everybody and their uncle.

meanwhile My dh gets a handshake upon his retirement and just the money he paid into ; no lifetime benefits. What makes these people and their spouses to special ; the spouses never worked for the town or the county??

Can anyone understand that we cannot afford these things amymore. If you work 30 years, you get lifetime benefits ; but you could live another 40 years ; so basically you are gaining more than you worked!!

Thanks for listening ; Its just too much. we are being taxed out to the limit and more.

Handshake upon retirement? You are among the "Haves".

[Chrisk327]

I think if you work 7 yrs you get lifetime health.

Not to hit the counterpoint here, but what do you think she makes? unless she is a teacher or a cop, clerical work or even professionals in the town or county don't make as much as those in the private sector, and people generally take those jobs for the benefits and job security. I'm sure some are below average workers, but I bet a bunch are not.

[okaydorothy]

I bet my dh makes as much if not much much less and he works for the private sector. I understand that civil servants can make less per year, but make it up in the benefits and the whole package. But why should we as tax payers pay for lifetime benefits for a spouse?

The people who negotiated contracts like this never thought that we could not afford it forever.

7 years for lifetime health ; that is almost criminal. so if I work for the town for 7 years, my spouse and I can get health benefits for life ; wow ; that is so scary. Do you realize how fast 7 years goes? So if you get a job at 21, stay until you are 29, the town pays for your health for the rest of your life ; how about if you live until you are 86 like my mum is now? That is 57 years of health benefits??

[JosephPicarilloJr.]

Originally Posted by okaydorothy

I bet my dh makes as much if not much much less and he works for the private sector. I understand that civil servants can make less per year, but make it up in the benefits and the whole package. But why should we as tax payers pay for lifetime benefits for a spouse?

The people who negotiated contracts like this never thought that we could not afford it forever.

7 years for lifetime health ; that is almost criminal. so if I work for the town for 7 years, my spouse and I can get health benefits for life ; wow ; that is so scary. Do you realize how fast 7 years goes? So if you get a job at 21, stay until you are 29, the town pays for your health for the rest of your life ; how about if you live until you are 86 like my mum is now? That is 57 years of health benefits??

Dorothy, let me start by congratulating you on going back to school - kudos to you.

Secondly, I agree 100% that the benefits of the civil servants need to be pared down. The cost of healthcare benefits has increased exponentially and the tax payer cannot afford to pay for this benefit in totality anymore. I believe some civil servants do pay towards their healthcare premiums - they all should at this point.

Third, I agree that working only 7 years should not qualify someone for lifetime health benefits. In the private sector, the number of years tends to be significantly higher, around 25 or 30 years before an employee qualifies for such a costly benefit. The public sector should follow suit.

As for spouses getting the benefits, I disagree with you here. Spouses should be entitled to the benefits because that's the way the private sector works. Traditionally, governement employees are paid less, on average, than their private sector counterpoints but some of that disparity is made up by their benefits. While some civil servant pay and the cost of their benefits has gone "through the roof", it would be unfair and unjust to take away benefits from civil servants that private sector employees get. The better method is to scale down on the civil servant benefits, put them in line with the private sector (slightly better) and ensure wages are slightly less.

[AndreaII]

Originally Posted by JosephPicarilloJr.

Third, I agree that working only 7 years should not qualify someone for lifetime health benefits. In the private sector, the number of years tends to be significantly higher, around 25 or 30 years before an employee qualifies for such a costly benefit. The public sector should follow suit.

As for spouses getting the benefits, I disagree with you here. Spouses should be entitled to the benefits because that's the way the private sector works. Traditionally, governement employees are paid less, on average, than their private sector counterpoints but some of that disparity is made up by their benefits. While some civil servant pay and the cost of their benefits has gone "through the roof", it would be unfair and unjust to take away benefits from civil servants that private sector employees get. The better method is to scale down on the civil servant benefits, put them in line with the private sector (slightly better) and ensure wages are slightly less.

My husband works in the private sector - he has for 29 years and we DO NOT and NEVER WILL receive lifetime health benefits. Period. I don't know where you got your information from unless you just make it up as you go along.

[JosephPicarilloJr.]

Originally Posted by AndreaII

My husband works in the private sector - he has for 29 years and we DO NOT and NEVER WILL receive lifetime health benefits. Period. I don't know where you got your information from unless you just make it up as you go along.

Yea, you caught me

I should have qualified my statement by saying "many private sector companies offer retiree benefits after a significant number of years" - my mistake.