This is very good information about the pension liability and unfunded liabilities faces by Florida taxpayers. It is reason enough to vote out every incumbent elected official in Florida. A similar problem exists in the OTHER Orange County, in California where the 3% unfunded pension just for Sheriff deputies is about to force the County to declare bankruptcy. I moved here in 2006 from that "OC" and get frequent emails from one County official on the issue.
vj
This is from an email sent out by Matt Falconer, who is running for Mayor in Orange County, FL:
Most taxpayers are not aware that virtually every public employee and
elected official is part of the Florida Retirement System.
Every year taxpayers pay up to 23% of the employee's salary into the FRS fund.
The FRS is a "defined
benefit" system which means the members are guaranteed
levels of income regardless of the performance of the retirement fund. If the
fund loses money, the taxpayers make up the losses. It is a great system,
unless you are a taxpayer.
Pensions were designed to keep older people from having to work late in life
and starving. But in Florida, I have seen a public employee retire at 42, with an
annual pension starting at $85,000. The top annual pension payment in the State
of Florida is $285,268.32
a year, for not working. The defined pension benefit increases
3% every year for public safety (1.6% for others). In 30 years this retired
civil servant will be making $692,421.09.
At that point our public employee has not worked in 30 years.
So you are thinking this is just an odd example. Of the top 100 retirees in
Florida the "average" pension is $155,870 a year. In 30 years those
100 people will be costing the taxpayer $37,833,903 a year, or an average of
$378,339. So you are thinking these people all must work in Dade County. Sorry,
in Orange County the top
retiree pulls in $186,471 and there are 16 (soon to be 20)
retirees making $100,000 or more a year without working.
Here is a startling fact. There are 1,000,000 state and local government
workers in Florida. What happens when they all hit retirement? In 30 years we
will have two retirees collecting pensions for each government job. But the
real problem is the hidden fact that pension plan is not actuarially sound or
self funding. The fund lost
$31.1 billion last year, or 25% of its value. The taxpayer is
liable for the fund making a 7.75% return each and every year, so the gap in
value is now $40 billion and the taxpayer has to pay again.
Assuming a 7.75% return is not achievable, which I think it a good bet in the
future economy, what is the taxpayer's liability? I ran an analysis using the
current fund value and a 3% annual return over 40 years. I compared that figure
to a 7.75% return on the current targeted fund value (the fund value we should
be at now). If I am correct and our annualized return is only 3%, we will be $2.3 TRILLION short in the
pension fund in 40 years. If the yield is 4% we will be $2.2
TRILLION underfunded. And if someone invents a pill making people live ten
years longer these numbers will double. What
this means to you is your taxes will increase dramatically over the next two
decades.
Our local government pension time bomb reviles the social security problem at a
federal level. But we can do something about it. We can simply shift to a defined contribution system
where we put the retirement funds into the employees 401k account like the
private sector does. But in order to make this simply shift we need political
leaders with the courage to reform the system. My first vote as Orange County
Mayor will be to convert
all future employees to a defined contribution plan. I will
stop public pensions from being a threat to our children's future. For myself, I will never, ever accept a public
pension for public service.
Do you think it is fair the
taxpayers are working into their 70s so their civil servants can retire in
their 40s?
Do you think government workers
deserve a better pension plan than the taxpayers who pay their salaries?
Do you want to leave your grandchildren with
a $2 trillion liability?
Have any Mayoral candidates ever mentioned this
problem?
Are you ready to elect a leader
with the courage and convictions to make things right?
Folks, I can and will fix our broken government
but I need your help. I need you to send this message to everyone on your email
list. Please visit my web site and donate so I can compete with the well funded
special interest groups.
Together
we can build a better
future for our children.
Matthew Falconer
www.MatthewFalconer.com
Matthew@MatthewFalconer.com
My guess is that Baker is too middle of the road and the party wanted someone who will toe the line on the issues. Doesn't matter to them if Baker would do a better job, or if Putnam would know a backhoe from a cultivator, just whether or not they will be true believers in the party.
Posted by: Jim A | 10/20/2009 at 12:41 PM
They ought to slap Baker the hell out of town. He's as dumb as my dore nobe.
Posted by: DougRobinson | 10/20/2009 at 11:10 PM
Doug is correct about Baker being slapped out of town. His attendance in Tallahassee hasn't brought out the best in him.
Putnam is the better candidate.
Posted by: wrench's wench | 10/21/2009 at 12:05 AM
I only remember the good senator for his bill on outlawing bull balls on truck trailer hitches and his support for JD Alexanders bill stripping me of protesting Niagara and all other water grabs. and lastly for never once ever answering my e mails or making a call on the issues of school fire safety not being enforced, Lake O levee not being brought up to code and the bill that made it possible for Progress Energy to tax my power bill to pay for a Nuclear reactor and Local Taxes added onro it for a AR100 westinghouse reactor that has never been approved by NRC to build. The good Senator has for me a Republican been a poor excuse for local representation and uninformed on the issues of Lake Co like WATER and Good JOBS and a expanded revenue base and state schools that meet state fire codes and file timely and posted state reports. Yes the Senators record is a great endorsement for term limits .
Posted by: lwheeler45@aol.com | 10/21/2009 at 04:06 AM
Unfortunately I have to agree with lwheeler45 on these Lake County issues. The "unread" amendments to his bill which disallowed localities any say in their water management was the big "speed bump" for me.
I DO agree with Rep. Baker's stand on legal hand gun ownership for licensed/trained owners. But then he owns the gun shop so it would probably be hard to sneak an amendment related to anti gun into any of his proposed bills.....It is a shame neither he nor his staff read what he votes on before he votes on it either.....
Posted by: Patrinka of the Lakes | 10/21/2009 at 09:14 AM
Never, ever, ever answers emails, letters, phone calls, etc. His office will even hang up on you. This is not representation.....
Posted by: Slow Turtle | 10/21/2009 at 10:33 AM
Senetor Baker brought this on himself when he signed Bills that he "Didn't know what was in there" meaning giving Niagra the right to pull our precious water and then sell it back to us. That wasn't the only thing he signed without reading first. At this point I'd rather have an 8th grader in there.
Posted by: Bob Harrison | 10/21/2009 at 11:07 AM