Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed
Big Screen — Movie commentary
Blurt — Music's inside track
Booze News — San Diego spirits
Classical Music — Immortal beauty
Classifieds — Free and easy
Close to Home — What it’s like on the street where you live
Cover Stories — Front-page features
Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes
Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts
Feast! — Food & drink reviews
Feature Stories — Local news & stories
Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore
From the Archives — Spotlight on the past
Golden Dreams — Talk of the town
The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it
Letters — Our inbox
Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites
Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans
Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists
Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news
News Ticker — News & politics
Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated
Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna
Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated
Poetry — The old and the new
Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers
Reading — The hunt for intellectuals
Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails
San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds
SD on the QT — Almost factual news
Sheep and Goats — Places of worship
Special Issues — The best of
Street Style — San Diego streets have style
Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves
Theater — On stage in San Diego this week
Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative
Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work
Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego
Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads
Your Week — Daily event picks
Fire Department Compensation Far Higher than Private Sector's: Study
The point is City employees have not contributed to SS since 1982. IF they had "summer jobs" 20-30 years ago, benefits are base upon those wages. As of today the IRS has ruled current city in the DB plan cannot re-enter SS, so they will not qualify. Orange County has submitted a new proposal and it is under submission at the IRS. If the IRS agrees with the new plan, it will probably be on a prospective basis.— April 27, 2011 11:11 p.m.
Fire Department Compensation Far Higher than Private Sector's: Study
Sorry I linked to wrong page. . http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10045.html .— April 27, 2011 7:36 p.m.
Fire Department Compensation Far Higher than Private Sector's: Study
Tell it to GE and Exxon Mobile.— April 27, 2011 7:26 p.m.
Fire Department Compensation Far Higher than Private Sector's: Study
Yes your scenario is partially true. But first, when did government employees stop paying taxes like everyone else? Plenty of tax comes out of my check. Regarding your SS statement. What you said is partially correct. If you worked as you outlined you would have earned the necessary credits to qualify for a benefit. What you left out is the retiree would not receive 100% of the calculated SS benefit. Your Social Security benefits will be reduced by two-thirds of your government pension. In some cases that wipes out any SS benefit. It's called the Government Pension Offset. . http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10007.html .— April 27, 2011 2:36 p.m.
Fire Department Compensation Far Higher than Private Sector's: Study
Part of the complaint behind the OC case was that, but the trial and appellate courts said, the debt is paid annually, thus legal. It's not the actuarial prediction over a retirement period which no one can know. For example, an employee could retire at age 55 and die in a car accident later that same year. The actuarial assumption the retirement would cost the retirement system one million dollar would be 100% wrong.— April 27, 2011 2:26 p.m.
Fire Department Compensation Far Higher than Private Sector's: Study
Safety employees contribute between 12 and 17 percent depending on "entry age" of their pay now. The city is suppose to contribute a substantially equal amount. Let's say a safety employees wage is 75K. Nothing else, not overtime, not benefit, nothing just the cash he being paid. Because that's part of the pension calculation. At the low end 12% of the 75K or $9,000 is contributed, the City match is $9,000 so about $18K a year. On a straight line contribution that's $540K over 30 years WITHOUT any investment return. Interest earn over the 30 years of WORKING on the low side 800K-1M, then add 30 years of interest during retirement and there's another 1M. 90% of 75K is $67500...isn't that just about what SF or someone else said public safety pension averaged? 67.5K x 30 years = $2M roughly... Yes, these numbers are VERY rough but it seems it can work— April 25, 2011 10:34 a.m.
Fire Department Compensation Far Higher than Private Sector's: Study
Puppy says he's tired of this argument but just keeps on typing away. When does a lawyer tire of arguing, it what was they were born to do. LOL While I cannot speak for other organizations, in the City of SD many if not all of the benefit you complain about are gone and have been since July of 2005. The Governor says he'll have a ballot measure to make sure politicians cannot negotiate the same in the future and San Diego taxpayers, who passed Prop B a few years back already took that authority away. I have not doubt the voters will pass what ever Brown comes up with, and in SD whatever DeMaio's proposes too.— April 25, 2011 10:13 a.m.
Fire Department Compensation Far Higher than Private Sector's: Study
Yes... and using the pupsters own math from the convoluted comment posting system the Reader uses. I contributed substantially MORE than the $150K figure he wrote. Puppy has it so wrong...he said, "I doubt any PS member in SD contributes $416 per month TODAY towards their pensions, much less every month for 360 months total." Today, safety eemployees are contribution MORE than that amount every TWO WEEKS. And that percentage of pay has not drastically changed over the last 30 years. Add to that the City's substantially equal contribution.— April 25, 2011 10:04 a.m.
Fire Department Compensation Far Higher than Private Sector's: Study
"JW, if you calculate your pension and the amount YOU contributed to it, I DOUBT it would be even 5% of the total value." -------------------------- Puppy since the city i.e. the taxpayers, and the employees contribute for all intents and purposes a substantially equal portions then the city must have done about the same. While the City may have contributed slightly more with pick-ups in lieu of wages increases, thus lowering one third of the pension calculation. The bottom line is it is investment returns that pay pensions, long term 30, 40 year returns combined with contributions.— April 25, 2011 9:56 a.m.
Fire Department Compensation Far Higher than Private Sector's: Study
"Many were concerned, and many were attempting to get some scrutiny of the pay and benefit practices of municipalities, states and the federal government." Nonsense. Back in the 90's public employee wage discussions were non existent, especially when you contrast them to today's media frenzy on the topic. There was NO mainstream media coverage, claiming it was there then is wishful or delusional spinning of the fact. Heck even Don cops out to 2003 after being fed leads from Diann Shipione. As of today, DeMaio's 401K plan for city employees would only cover new ones, since the IRS has said employees in existing DB plans cannot re-enter social security. (This is being examined now, but the Orange County proposal was denied and no final decision has been made.) The final wording of the proposed ballot measure is done yet, so were only speculating at best, but the City's proposed match was capped, and would be illegal. It would require another vote because of Prop B. I'd also argue about your statement, "When governmental agencies talk of "401(k)-type plans" to replace the defined benefit plans now offered, they don't necessarily mean something analogous to the typical plan offered in private employment." DeMaio has made it clear, over and over, city employee should have the same retirement benefits at their private sector counterparts. But on the other hand DeMaio has also said, "You don’t find a loophole and then kick someone to the curb because legally you found a way out." The context of that statement was regarding the Mayor's plan to eliminate "free" trash pick up for those excluded by the 1919 People Ordinance. Apparently those words mean nothing to DeMaio in the context of vested retiree benefits.— April 24, 2011 4:51 p.m.