State Workers Anxious As Lawmakers Debate Pensions
From the Associated Press
An Illinois agency manager might have to delay retirement. A former university secretary wonders if she'll have to cancel vacations. A state office assistant fears he won't be able to afford the medical care his wife needs.
Anxiety and anger are growing among state employees and retirees who wonder what will happen to their pocketbooks if lawmakers make expected changes to the state's pension systems that could require workers to pay even more toward retirement, increase the retirement age and cut annual increases in benefits.
Workers spent their careers paying into their pension funds what the law told them to pay while, for decades, Legislatures and governors shorted and even skipped the state's required payments. Now the General Assembly is scrambling to solve a Goliath-size fiscal problem: a $97 billion shortfall in the money needed to cover promised payouts to current and former employees who belong to five state pension systems, including public school teachers, judges and legislators themselves.
"It's legalized robbery," said Paul Morton, an office assistant for the Illinois Department of Health care and Family Services who fears he won't be able to afford his health care costs if his pension is significantly reduced or if he's forced to drop his health insurance. Morton, 47, says his wife has diabetes, and he estimates half of his annual retirement would have to go toward insurance costs — a benefit the state had promised to fully fund after 20 years of service.
Two proposals, each sponsored by the head of each chamber, are competing for votes among lawmakers who want a deal before the legislature adjourns May 31.
Read more in our daily News Update...
From the Associated Press
An Illinois agency manager might have to delay retirement. A former university secretary wonders if she'll have to cancel vacations. A state office assistant fears he won't be able to afford the medical care his wife needs.
Anxiety and anger are growing among state employees and retirees who wonder what will happen to their pocketbooks if lawmakers make expected changes to the state's pension systems that could require workers to pay even more toward retirement, increase the retirement age and cut annual increases in benefits.
Workers spent their careers paying into their pension funds what the law told them to pay while, for decades, Legislatures and governors shorted and even skipped the state's required payments. Now the General Assembly is scrambling to solve a Goliath-size fiscal problem: a $97 billion shortfall in the money needed to cover promised payouts to current and former employees who belong to five state pension systems, including public school teachers, judges and legislators themselves.
"It's legalized robbery," said Paul Morton, an office assistant for the Illinois Department of Health care and Family Services who fears he won't be able to afford his health care costs if his pension is significantly reduced or if he's forced to drop his health insurance. Morton, 47, says his wife has diabetes, and he estimates half of his annual retirement would have to go toward insurance costs — a benefit the state had promised to fully fund after 20 years of service.
Two proposals, each sponsored by the head of each chamber, are competing for votes among lawmakers who want a deal before the legislature adjourns May 31.
Read more in our daily News Update...