And the hammer fell. The Governor introduced the retirement plan. And, since it is a Republican plan made behind closed doors and they control both sides of State Congress, it is sure to pass. As it pertains to me, a 3% cut in pay next year for health insurance. More significantly, current retirement plans will be converted to contribution plans, and retirement age will be 60.
This is absolutely devastating. I had 5 more years and then i could retire. Now, it would be 15 years. It was one thing to last at a low paying, low stress job for 5 more years. But, as i haven't had a raise in years, i can't afford to work another 15 with poor salary and poor investments.
Dude. That's awful. I'm sorry to hear that, Norm. Been through one pay cut myself, and that was not a fun year at all. We take less in salary in order to earn the pension and benefits. Totally wrong for them to pull a Darth Vader and alter the deal midstream.
I doubt that is the reason. It's probably just you.
And here I've been wearing deodorant and everything.
Being in the private sector all my career, I've always had a contribution plan but at least I knew that and could plan with it. Not easy to know when enough is enough and pull that trigger though.
Seems like we can't win either way. With a contribution plan, you have to gamble on the stock market and hope that when you retire, it's not in a year like 2008. Or that you work for a company like Enron. With the public sector, the pension is the long-term goal. Now we're starting to find out it may not actually be there.
New subject -
Netflix sent an e-mail explaining how thrilled I should be about their incomparably fabulous 15% rate increase.
Look folks...
If you're gonn'a raise prices, just do it and let me decide if it's worth it.
Don't insult my intelligence with propaganda and marketing ploys.
You're going to love our new tiered pricing structure! Oh, and Star Wars Land too!
I've been in a 401 (k) since leaving Iowa and unfortunately, the hit of 2008 did a number on me, not to mention the lost earnings on the lost money.
I hear ya. A lot of people in that boat. That was the year I had to take a pay cut.
As for that article, that would explain some things. It seems that the retirement system is a ponzi scheme that has run it's course. However, there is one thing the article points out and some others that it is misses. The one it hits is the average annual benefit is $21K + Health Insurance. So, it's not like employees are making a killing. But, the one it misses is that amount is actually skewed higher than the real average amount, as 10% of the retirement system funds are for past legislators and administrators who made the $100K + salaries. And, many of them are double dipping - retire at a high salary and re-hire at same high salary. Those are the ones that need to be addressed.
We have those games going on, too. At least they've been trying to close loopholes about double-dipping. They also stopped counting overtime hours towards your pension because people were massively abusing that as well.
We still are facing trouble with health care, though. I can't figure it out. I've seen article after article claiming the new health care laws have done an amazing job of keeping premiums down for Americans. Yet my government (firmly Democrat) is telling me that I have to pay more for my healthcare because the costs are skyrocketing. Which one is it? Hard to figure out the truth anymore.
Morning folks.
Just about done work. Bed time. Catch y'all later. Play nice, now.
Ah, back to the vampire hours, I see.
As Norm's work week is over, Pkondz has literally just gone to bed, Darcys off to see either fake nudes or real nudes, and I basically do naff all for a living now, I'm ready to call it.
Woohoo! One hour workday!