The Number Crunchers
Bolingbrook, Illinois

Should We Be Creating Public Education Pension Millionaires?  Open the Books and Find Out

  


October 17, 2011

 

By Cedra Crenshaw

 

How many pension millionaires are being created by the bloated public sector state pension system? Open the books on government spending at www.openthebooks.com and find out.

Did you know that you have a greater chance of becoming a pension millionaire as a retired educator than you do if you work in the private sector?

 

Consider that you have to wait 35.2 years if you retire from the private sector at age 67 to collect $1 million, assuming the 2011 maximum social security payout of $28,392/year. At the ripe old age of 102 you can officially declare yourself a pension millionaire, unless of course you’re dead.

But 87% of Valley View School District, “VVSD”, retirees are on track to collect $1 million during retirement before their private sector counterparts.

 

In fact, 50% will collect $1 million in less than 15 years. Don’t forget, educators can retire at age 55 (except for new teachers) and life expectancy is approaching 80.

Should the state pension system be creating pension millionaires while those in the private sector downsize to live within their means?

 

66, or 11%, of VVSD retirees have already collected over $1 million as of 10/5/2011.

 

These 66 retired educators contributed $5,114,352 to the pension system over the course of their careers, yet they have collected a combined pension total of $85,519,865, almost 17 times what they put into the system!

 

These 66 will soon have company. There are 12 VVSD retirees who have collected pensions over $900k as of 10/5/2011. Here are the numbers (VVSD retiree annuity data from www.openthebooks.com).

How many times have you heard that “millionaires and billionaires” don’t pay their fair share?   The next time someone says this, ask them two simple questions:

 

  1.   Are you an educator?
  2. Are you retired?

 

 

If they answer yes to these questions, tell them they may be talking about themselves. The real question is, are educators paying their fair share…

 

  1. If they become millionaires in retirement while most in the private sector downsize to live within their means?
  2. If their pensions are multiples of the 2011 maximum social security payout of $28,394/year?
  3. If they contribute less than 24 months’ worth of payouts towards their own pension?
  4. If the other 95% of Illinois taxpayers who are not eligible for a state pension must contribute to their retirement fund?
  5. If they spike their salary during the 4 years before retirement, taking needed resources out of the classroom?
  6. If their union contract “negotiations” with school boards must be in secret?
  7. If their union is the biggest financial contributor to elected school board members?
  8. If they deplete the public educator pension system based on bloated salaries they had when they were not educators?
  9. If they spike their salary at one district and then transfer to another district where they are sure to spike their salary again?
  10. If their union leadership engages in and encourages financially destructive practices that would get a private company in legal trouble?

 

 

 

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