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View Full Version : Retired Ohio Teacher (59) gets $174,000 Pension for Life!




bobbyw24
12-12-2011, 11:31 AM
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — After nearly 40 years in public education, Patrick Godwin spends his retirement days running a horse farm east of Sacramento, Calif., with his daughter.

His departure from the workaday world is likely to be long and relatively free of financial concerns, after he retired last July at age 59 with a pension paying $174,308 a year for the rest of his life.

Such guaranteed pensions for relatively youthful government retirees — paid in similar fashion to millions nationwide — are contributing to nationwide friction with the public sector workers. They have access to attractive defined-benefit pensions and retiree health care coverage that most private sector workers no longer do.

Experts say eligible retirement ages have fallen over the past two decades for many reasons, including contract agreements between states and government labor unions that lowered retirement ages in lieu of raising pay.

With Americans increasingly likely to live well into their 80s, critics question whether paying lifetime pensions to retirees from age 55 or 60 is financially sustainable. An Associated Press survey earlier this year found the 50 states have a combined $690 billion in unfunded pension liabilities and $418 billion in retiree health care obligations.

http://news.yahoo.com/public-retirement-ages-come-under-greater-scrutiny-170140955.html

ShaneEnochs
12-12-2011, 11:36 AM
I never understood government pensions, or pensions in general. If you want a retirement account, then get a Roth IRA or invest in your company's 401k. You shouldn't get compensation for nothing.

oyarde
12-12-2011, 11:39 AM
Lets see , 175 k.Thats probably somewhere around the avg of most 59 yr. olds 401k ?

Fox McCloud
12-12-2011, 03:07 PM
If he lives to 80, he'll have burn through over $3.6 million dollars of taxpayer money.

This is one single person.

This is what issue 2 was all about--to attempt to somewhat control the insane costs of government spending on government employees. Sadly, it got voted down because government employees kept playing the "fear card", and people fell for it hook, line, and sinker.

ShaneEnochs
12-12-2011, 03:43 PM
Ooooh, my bad. I misunderstood. I thought he was getting it per year.

Diurdi
12-12-2011, 03:53 PM
Ooooh, my bad. I misunderstood. I thought he was getting it per year. It's $174,000 per year. But thats an absolutely ridiculous compensation - $14,500 per month. That's a ridiculous sum for retirement, in Finland the sum for an elementary grade teacher retiring at age 59 would probably be under 1,500€ month (our system gives you higher multipliers for retirement pay for working the last years up to age 67)

specsaregood
12-12-2011, 03:58 PM
With Americans increasingly likely to live well into their 80s, critics question whether paying lifetime pensions to retirees from age 55 or 60 is financially sustainable. An Associated Press survey earlier this year found the 50 states have a combined $690 billion in unfunded pension liabilities and $418 billion in retiree health care obligations.


I'm thinking those numbers are underestimated by a LOT. There are estimates that the NJ teachers pension fund is underfunded to the tune of 30billion alone. Its all one big scam.

bkreigh
12-12-2011, 03:59 PM
Good for him. Bad for the tax payers.

ShaneEnochs
12-12-2011, 05:01 PM
It's $174,000 per year. But thats an absolutely ridiculous compensation - $14,500 per month. That's a ridiculous sum for retirement, in Finland the sum for an elementary grade teacher retiring at age 59 would probably be under 1,500€ month (our system gives you higher multipliers for retirement pay for working the last years up to age 67)

Oh, then my original assessment was correct. It's crazy.

Danke
12-12-2011, 05:59 PM
Until the governments go bankrupt....

kylejack
12-12-2011, 06:10 PM
Whatever the market will bear. It can be hard to find teachers, so if one is willing to put in 40 years, that might be worth a hefty sum. He started teaching at 19, though? That's pretty young?

eduardo89
12-12-2011, 06:29 PM
Teachers are so underpaid!

Diurdi
12-12-2011, 06:33 PM
Whatever the market will bear. It can be hard to find teachers, so if one is willing to put in 40 years, that might be worth a hefty sum. He started teaching at 19, though? That's pretty young?
This has nothing to do with the market.

We're speaking of Public Teachers and Public Pension.

LibForestPaul
12-12-2011, 06:34 PM
unions for government employees, lol...
who is laughing though...
the teachers who believe they will be getting a pension for the foreseeable future.
the bureaucrats who inked these deals knowing full well it was insolvent from the start.
the taxpayer being currently stiffed with the bill.

greed, envy, laziness. wow...the future will be interesting at least