Driving Federal Government Employees Into Retirement

Washington Monthly ^ | Dec. 28, 2011 | Keith Humphreys

[Poundstone]

My family and I went to the VA hospital for Christmas services, during which the kindly chaplain said goodbye to the veterans to whom he had been ministering. Like a record number of federal government employees, he has decided to retire this year.

Because the federal workforce is older than the general population, a certain number of retirements are to be expected. Yet according to the actuaries at the federal Office of Personal Management, workforce age isn’t enough to account for the surge in federal retirements. It’s not hard to see what other factors are driving federal government employees to the exits.

[Poundstone]

As a recently-retired Federal employee myself, I’m glad I retired when I did!!!

[tbw2]

Are they retiring now to lock in retirement benefits or take lump sum distributions, instead of facing retirement benefits cuts under austerity later?

[txrefugee]

Federal employees retire with the most cushy benefits, funded by taxpayers who can’t afford to retire. No wonder they are called “public serpents.”

[Poundstone]

There hasn’t been a lump sum option in the federal retirement system for years, but yes, retiring now does lock in your benefits for life under the current system.

That was a factor in my decision to retire last year.

[Poundstone]

Our benefits aren’t the “most cushy” by a long shot. They’re pretty much in the middle of the traditional pension system. Granted, traditional pensions are disappearing in the private sector, but that’s the private sector’s fault.

[puppypusher]

Maybe these Federal Employees know that the jig is up and they are going to collect what they can of their retirement pentions before the government collapses under its own weight.

I guess the rest of us had better keep our eyes open.

[Oceander]

Just so long as they aren't all replaced at a one-to-one ratio, at least we're trimming the current number. If enough can be persuaded to retire and are not then simply replaced, the drain on the public fisc - and the taxpayers' collective wallet - will probably be worth it.

[PGR88]

I have nothing against them as individuals, but as a group, Gov’t employees have become branches of the Democrat Party. I lived in DC for 6 years, and of course, Fed Employees believe in their “mission,” believe that the Federal Gov’t should manage most aspects of people’s lives, and are very patronizing to those of us in “flyover” country. After all, who else is large enough, or smart enough to do it?

Granted most Federal Employees are not in DC, but DC is the center of the Empire.

[Siena Dreaming]

Actually, the tax burden on the private sector is likely what has contributed to the decrease in retirement benefits there i.e. the number of public employees hired has cost workers in the private sector.

Also, the ballooning health costs employers are paying has disincentivized them from offering benefits in other areas like retirement.

[Avery Iota Kracker]

I found this article to be laced with propaganda, fear and loathing.

We’re getting jacked, plain and simple.

[gramho12]

It's the "private sector's fault" since they realized that a defined benefit pension system was unsustainable due to the fact of people living longer, among a lot of other factors. Too bad the public pension plans have not realized the same thing, but rely on the deep pockets of the American people. Those in the private sector have to fund their own pension plus those in the public sector as well.

I am not against public employees, but there are just too many unnecessary public funded bureaucrats that are now eating up profits and driving us into debt.

[blueunicorn6]

bis pueni seres

[hinckley buzzard]

The problem is that while the local VA may be losing employees and not replacing them, the gubbermint in DC continues to grow like a cancerous tumor. This last year DC was the fastest growing "state" in the union, first time since the 1940's that has happened. No accident either, imo. Obama is growing the fedgov like crazy and concentrating power in DC away from the country at large. Services may suffer, but the monster prospers.

[PLMerite]

I’m not 55 yet, but if they gave an early-out that wasn’t a total insult I’d certainly consider it.

[Glenn]

Written by a Standford shrink.

What the hell dog does he have in this hunt?

[precisionshootist]

“Maybe these Federal Employees know that the jig is up and they are going to collect what they can of their retirement pentions before the government collapses under its own weight.

I guess the rest of us had better keep our eyes open.”

The people in the private sector have had enough of this crap. Government employees whether they know it or not have made a Bernie Madoff deal. Their pension money does not exist and has never existed. I’m in the private sector and I don’t owe anyone else a pension and cushy benefits. More and more of the wealth creators are figuring this out. Yes we WILL put a stop to it.

[Night Hides Not]

I’d say it depends on the agency and their leadership. Don’t just talk to disgruntled employees, talk to employees at agencies with excellent leadership, i.e. those voted “best agency to work for”.

[Signalman]

As a recently-retired Federal employee myself, I’m glad I retired when I did!!!

Me too. DOD and FAA plus military for 34 1/2 years. Retired under CSRS.

[Night Hides Not]

The people in the private sector have had enough of this crap. Government employees whether they know it or not have made a Bernie Madoff deal.

Federal pensions are being phased out. New workers now contribute to defined contribution plans, with employer matching.