Posted on 02/04/2013 7:20:31 PM PST by beaversmom
Echoing what the Peak has been writing for at least six months, Independence Institute’s Senior Fellow in Fiscal Policy, Barry Poulson, is now joining those who are sounding the alarm about the poor state of Colorado’s public employee retirement plan. From his recent op-ed to the Colorado Springs Gazette:
There is no other pension plan in the country that imposes such a financial burden on future taxpayers. Every household in Colorado would have to pay $1,739 more in taxes annually, just to meet pension obligations.
Poulson also calculated that if PERA’s financial analysts were to use current market realities to calculate the amount from paychecks needed to pay this liability, the employee contributions would increase from 11.3% of pay to a whopping 53.9%. Poulson points to a harsh reality that Colorado needs to face in order to get its financial ducks in a row. In the piece, he also calls for a “hard-freeze” for pension plan benefits:
In states such as Colorado only a hard freeze will generate revenue savings in the pension plan. In a hard freeze all employees, including current employees, are required to enroll in a defined contribution plan; all future benefits in the defined benefit plan are terminated. The benefits already earned by current employees and retirees in the defined benefit plan are fully funded, and Social Security benefits are extended to all employees.
These are hard times, which call for tough spending decisions. While we’re happy that more are jumping on the PERA awareness bandwagon, we’re still waiting for the Democratic legislature and teachers unions to actually take a long-term view of the issue for the benefit of Coloradans as a whole and state workers.
My dad is a double dipper. State of Michigan and state of Colorado.
“public employee retirement plan”
Looks more like PERP to me.
No, that's the people running it. ;)
Getting while the getting is good. :)
Legislature is also proposing raises for state employees, I heard.
Looks like they are expecting a windfall from all the penalties CO will be raking in from “the path to citizenship”
Given the minimal to detrimental services rendered by said Colorado bureaucraps, cancel all retirement payments.
Let ‘em fight it out with the trolls for space under the bridges.
People have actually retired under PARA with 100% of their state salary they were making while working.
This is not possible in the Private Sector.
Taxpayers need to wake up.
Yup. He is an accountant and understands that it is unsustainable.
“Every household in Colorado would have to pay $1,739 more in taxes annually, just to meet pension obligations.”
Legislatures are sovereign. They can change the terms of state pensions to whatever they want, whenever they want. No current legislature is bond by any actions of a previous legislature.
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