In a free society, elected officials and other government workers are supposed to be servants of the people. But looming retirement costs for state employees will make Marylanders think serfdom has returned.
The state estimated the cost of providing health benefits for state retirees as of 2005 would be about $20 billion. Most private-sector retirees had retirement health benefits severed years ago.
That is not the only obligation. We the people must finance pension benefits, too.
That fact is particularly onerous because most private sector workers must finance their own retirement, often through 401(k) plans that require workers to contribute a specified amount each month from their paychecks.
According to the Bureau of Labor statistics, only 11 percent of private employers offered defined-benefit pensions, the kind offered by the government, last year. (Those plans are calculated using a formula that takes salary at the time of retirementand years employed into account.) That translates to about 21 percent of all private sector employees. That number has dropped precipitously since 1985, as companies seek to slash costs.
In contrast, defined-benefit programs cover 90 percent of state and local government workers, according to a recent article by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis ? a number that has held steady.
When retirement costs skyrocket for companies, workers lose their monthly checks. When they skyrocket for government workers, we the people have to foot the bill through higher taxes, or officials must cut other state programs.
To help we the people figure out what we will pay our masters, The Examiner requested a list of the 200 state retirees receiving the largest pensions from the State Retirement and Pension System, as well as names of current legislators eligible to receive pensions from multiple taxpayer-financed jobs, as some have worked as teachers or in local government positions.
The answer: “Please be advised that the agency does not possess any records in a format that is responsive to your requests.”
Spokeswoman Anne Budowski said that legislators may not earn a second benefit if they work for the state after leaving the legislature, but she has not yet responded to the question of whether legislators can draw pensions from other public jobs they held prior to entering office or currently hold. We the people deserve to know. We already will pay them a lot. Here are a few examples:
If state Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, D-Prince George?s and Calvert Counties, who has been in the General Assembly for 35 years, decided to retire today we would pay him $3,139 per month, based on his annual salary for the part-time position of $56,500. If Senator Norman Stone Jr., D-Baltimore County, ? who first entered the State House in 1963 ? retired today, he would receive $2,416.79 per month, based on hissalary of $43,500. Del. Hattie Harrison, D-Baltimore City, who has spent 33 years in office, would also receive $2,416.79. At least 30 members of the State House have served for more than 14 years, which means many of them are on a path to receive the maximum benefit, which requires 22.25 years in office.
Government workers often complain that they sacrifice salary for job stability and benefits. But that is no longer the case.
The state pension system should move to a defined contribution plan like the vast majority of private sector companies. It is the only solution that ensures we the people will not become serfs.
