Baltimore County officials are considering raising the retirement age for employees from 60 to 65 and significantly cutting post-employment benefits for future personnel, according to a labor union official and an executive summary circulating in county offices.
The proposals for employees except public safety personnel, elected officials and department heads are outlined in a two-page summary obtained by The Examiner. The summary states the county is proposing the changes “in order to incent long-term employees to further lengthen their service and thereby reduce other post-employment benefit liability.”
Under existing policy, general employees can retire after 30 years of service or at age 60 and are vested in the mandatory retirement system after five years. According to the proposal, the minimum age for existing employees will become 65. The 30-year service allowance will stand, and employees between 60 and 65 at the end of June will be grandfathered.
For employees hired after July, normal retirement eligibility will become 35 years of service or age 67 after 10 years of service.
“There are a lot of proposals on the table,” said Michael Spiller, the state?s representative for the American Federation of Teachers. “It may get better or worse.”
Spiller, who said he had not seen the summary but verified some of its contents, will be answering employees? questions at a Feb. 7 meeting, advertised on fliers distributed by members of the Baltimore County Federation of Public Employees.
County Executive Jim Smith has warned employees to expect changes in the retirement system to accommodate a new federal law requiring governments to fund future retiree health and life insurance benefits on an accrual basis. Smith estimated the county?s liability as $2 billion in his 2006 budget and included $50 million as a down payment.
A county spokeswoman declined to comment, citing ongoing negotiations with labor unions.
Meanwhile, employees said they are frustrated with the proposal.
One 55-year-old employee who askedto remain anonymous said she was planning to retire in five years after 25 years of service.
“Every year you get a statement that says when you?re eligible and how much you will get and now they are going to change that?” she said. “It?s concerning.”
Other changes, according to the summary, include a new deferred retirement option plan, or DROP, that would allow eligible employees who elect to stay beyond minimum retirement standards to accumulate their contributions in an interest-bearing account.
