Public Employee Union Benefits Are a Fiscal Disaster

Public Employee Union Benefits Are a Fiscal Disaster - US News and World Report
"state and local workers now earn an average of $14 more per hour in wages and benefits than their private sector counterparts.

In general, the average state government worker reaps retirement benefits several times richer than a counterpart in the private sector, a critical reason why public pension costs have become unsustainable.

For example, state and local governments contributed $3.04 per hour toward each employee's retirement in 2007, according to U.S. Labor Department figures, while private employers paid 92 cents an hour.
.....The most egregious issue is pensions.
Many state workers can retire in their mid-50s on close to full pay and, therefore, can receive pensions for more years than they have worked, even though they are young enough to take another job.
In this sense, public sector pensions have created a new class of millionaires.
Take a pension's present value; that is how much cash you would need to buy an annuity making payments equal to the pension.
In many cases, you would find the cash needed would be well into seven figures.
And these calculations don't even include the value of retiree healthcare benefits, which for many retirees vastly exceed those in the private sector.
In a number of states, these benefits include health insurance approximating $14,000 per year for family coverage, which is exempt from taxation.


"