Great post. State workers are now feeling what those in the private sector feel. After witnessing the "efficiency" of many state run offices I have more then a little trouble feeling to sorry for any state workers.

 

I did get a small raise this year (3%, how much will cost of living go up?) but my company reduced the amount they will match in our 401K and the cost of my insurance went up. I'm still at least 15 years from retiring (and that's if I can accumulate enough to be able to afford to retire) yet if I had worked for a state agency for my entire worklife I would be just a few years from retirement with a fully defined pension.

 

Sorry if my lack of sympathy offends anyone.

 

If you had worked for the state of Kentucky for the last 10 years (unless you were in the legislative branch) you would not have gotten that 3% raise. 1% has become the norm for most merit employees. If you have trouble feeling sorry for "any state workers" then you must think they are all inefficient.

 

For all of you that think being a state employee equals little work, high pay, big raises and a plush retirement...You are confused.

 

Maybe you should have chosen a career as a state worker so you could sympathize with the poor private sector while you raked in the big bucks and retired in luxury at a young age.

How old do you have to be to retire in the state retirement system and how much pension will you draw?

If you retire after 27 years you will have your health insurance and about 60% of your salary.

So someone who started working as a state employee at 25 could retire with 60% of their salary and full health coverage at 52? That sounds pretty good to me.

State benefits used to be the best, pay has always stunk.

 

No the benefits and pay suck. Not worth working for the state.

 

The excutive branch is taking cuts currently. There has been an order to cut non-merit staff. Need an order to send home all elected officials. They are the ones not working.

 

The judicial branch has laid off 185 employees in the last year.

How old do you have to be to retire in the state retirement system and how much pension will you draw?

 

Used to be that the combination of age + years of service had to equal 75, with 27 years of service minimum. I think that has changed since I retired in 2008 (at age 53 with 29 years in).

Great post. State workers are now feeling what those in the private sector feel. After witnessing the "efficiency" of many state run offices I have more then a little trouble feeling to sorry for any state workers.

 

I did get a small raise this year (3%, how much will cost of living go up?) but my company reduced the amount they will match in our 401K and the cost of my insurance went up. I'm still at least 15 years from retiring (and that's if I can accumulate enough to be able to afford to retire) yet if I had worked for a state agency for my entire worklife I would be just a few years from retirement with a fully defined pension.

 

Sorry if my lack of sympathy offends anyone.

 

A 3% raise AND your employer is providing some 401k match? Sounds like the gravy train to me.

Received my license plate, vehicle tax bill in the mail the other day and it read:

 

Fee $21.00

See PVA

 

Seems that the good Commonwealth of Kentucky employees in Frankfort couldn't get my and many, many others bills done in time before they needed to mail them out, so they just posted on the bill to see the PVA office (or so said the Boone County Clerks office when I called them). After talking to the Boone County Clerks office, I was told I had to call the Boone County PVA office, so they could post the correct cost to their computers so I could pay my bill in full.

 

Just seems crazy to me, that I had to do so much leg work, to get a State bill paid

 

The Boone County Clerks office also told me that they had received numerous checks made out to them in the amount of $21.00 that they had to return as a lot of folks just looked at the amount on the bill and sent that amount in thinking that is what they owed the Commonwealth!

First, my remarks were not meant to disparage the individuals or work ethic of state employees. I just wanted to point out that the impacts occuring at the government level have been going on in the private sector for the last few years.

 

 

 

 

At least the matter has received some attention by the state.

 

http://finance.ky.gov/NR/rdonlyres/5FC18392-AB6B-410C-9357-D62E569C9B38/0/DefinedContribution.pdf

 

Interesting read.

 

List of documents from Public Pension Working Group:

 

http://finance.ky.gov/kyppwgov.htm

None of this is out of line or different than what is going on in the private sector.

 

Last 3 years:

Raises - average less than 1%. Almost nothing.

Insurance premuims rising 10% annually.

Furloughs are common.

 

So what is happening to state employees is a mirror of what is happening in the private market. With one exception. Almost all private companies have dumped 'defined benefits' retirement. Government have not done this yet. And I do mean 'yet'. This is the ticking time bomb. Retirement plans by government entities are not realistic and are not sustainable. Defined benefits are not viable. 20 or 25 years and out is not viable. The common practice of double dipping is a downright abuse and further deepens the intrinsic problem.

 

I was basically forced to take my retirement (32 years in pension system). I wasn't making big bucks when I took mine. For the past 3 years I've had to work a part time job to help with bills. How am I being abusive?

I was basically forced to take my retirement (32 years in pension system). I wasn't making big bucks when I took mine. For the past 3 years I've had to work a part time job to help with bills. How am I being abusive?

 

Double dipping is when you retire from a job, start collecting Defined Benefits retirement AND get hired back to the SAME JOB making the same or nealy the same as before retiring. What you describe is not at all 'double dipping'.

First, it isn't a fair comparison to put state jobs up against private sector jobs. State workers make much less then private sector workers with the same job. State workers insurance in most cases isn't any better or cheaper then private sector workers. As a matter of fact my insurance is better and cheaper for the family plan then what my wife can get through the state. Second, there is a little too much generalization in this thread that state workers are lazy and don't do anything. I am not saying there aren't state workers that fall in that catagory because believe me there are but there are also plenty of those in the private sector as well.

 

That said I am not trying to suggest that state workers should be immune to the economy down turn but I truly do not think the legislators have made the hard decisions to cut spending where needed to make up the short fall. They took the easy way out and put it on the backs of the workers.

I've worked in the Legislative Branch for some time now and a lot of what everyone is saying makes sense, poor budgeting. I know my branch has cut more money than any other state branch and there are only new hires in positions when a laid off state worker refuses to take the recommended job. There has to be new hires even if the state is in a budget crisis simply to continue preserving our rights and priviledges in the court system according to the Constitution. We began cutting our budget heavily in 2007 and each year has seen an increased deficit.

 

I'm confused when we currently have over 35 new courthouses at a cost of over 20 million each being constructed at a constant pace.

 

Where does the court cost go to? Each person entering the court system with a guilty plea (other than seat belt) has to pay court cost, minimum $125.00. Hundreds of guilty pleas are entered daily throughout each county.

 

220 counties

 

200 guilty pleas a week (low average)

 

$125.00 each (minimum)

 

Total: 22,000,000 a month

 

I know court cost are not always paid up front and not all get paid, however, with these low numbers it is just an estimation and one that I feel is pretty low. How do we deprive the public of 22 million a month and not have things paid for?

First, it isn't a fair comparison to put state jobs up against private sector jobs. State workers make much less then private sector workers with the same job. State workers insurance in most cases isn't any better or cheaper then private sector workers. As a matter of fact my insurance is better and cheaper for the family plan then what my wife can get through the state. Second, there is a little too much generalization in this thread that state workers are lazy and don't do anything. I am not saying there aren't state workers that fall in that catagory because believe me there are but there are also plenty of those in the private sector as well.

 

That said I am not trying to suggest that state workers should be immune to the economy down turn but I truly do not think the legislators have made the hard decisions to cut spending where needed to make up the short fall. They took the easy way out and put it on the backs of the workers.

That is a great post. This also applies on down to the local level.

First, it isn't a fair comparison to put state jobs up against private sector jobs. State workers make much less then private sector workers with the same job. State workers insurance in most cases isn't any better or cheaper then private sector workers. As a matter of fact my insurance is better and cheaper for the family plan then what my wife can get through the state. Second, there is a little too much generalization in this thread that state workers are lazy and don't do anything. I am not saying there aren't state workers that fall in that catagory because believe me there are but there are also plenty of those in the private sector as well.

 

That said I am not trying to suggest that state workers should be immune to the economy down turn but I truly do not think the legislators have made the hard decisions to cut spending where needed to make up the short fall. They took the easy way out and put it on the backs of the workers.

 

Where there are comparable jobs to the private sector state jobs are often comparable or above in total compensation when you look at the overall benefits package.