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| Pensions Proposal Under The Microscope In Annapolis |
| 2011-02-23 |
| [WBAL] A proposal to increase Maryland state employees' pension contribution rate from 5 percent to 7 percent is getting a hearing before a House of Delegates committee. The House Appropriations Committee will discuss the proposal on Tuesday. Gov. Martin O'Malley is proposing changes to address $19 billion in unfunded pension liabilities. With increased contributions from employees and the state, O'Malley has said Maryland's funding of the system would rise from 64 percent to 80 percent by 2023. Experts in the field say healthy pension systems are at least 80 percent funded. The proposal also includes tighter eligibility criteria, with vesting beginning at 10 years instead of 5 years. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #8 And while you're at it Omar McBurk, the VA also provides a disability payment for service connected items. But what you probably don't know is that in order to get that VA disability, the DoD subtracts it from your retirement check, hands it over to the VA, who then cuts you another check and sends it back. the only real benefit is that the $$ the VA sends you is tax free. My 30% disability works out to a benefit of around a whopping $57 a year. Now in fairness, there is a plan to remove that set aside and those on 100% are already under it, and it iw supposed to trickle down to the rest. But i wanted to let you know before you attacked that 'benefit' also. BTW, I would gladly give up all the VA disability if only the tinnitus would go away and I could also get my lost hearing back. |
| Posted by: USN,Ret 2011-02-23 23:27 |
| #7 Maybe we could save some money by cutting VA (free medical benefits for life) for serving 4 years in a peacetime military. If such a thing really existed. Service connected injuries and things like exposures to toxic materials, nuclear testing, etc added up over the years. Those few citizens [as compared to the total population] who were drafted and those volunteered to do the dirty work until the 80s were paid squat for their time and too many times their health and life. The government, playing the odds, offered up commitments for dispensation over the long haul much like Social Security knowing that those making the commitment weren't going to be around to pay the piper. Today the VA is the last resort after all other means of care have been addressed for those without service connected situations. Even then the government tries to collect as much from third parties and co-pays. Google is your friend. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2011-02-23 20:14 |
| #6 Maybe we could save some money by cutting VA (free medical benefits for life) for serving 4 years in a peacetime military. Well, there's a catch to that. You see, you only get "free medical benefits for life" if you have a service connected disability. Otherwise you "contribute" a sizable co-pay. That changed in about 1986, I believe. Also, we have NEVER had a "peacetime military". The United States has either been at war or participating in some form of "emergency service" since 1947. Most non-military are surprised to learn that almost as many people have died in "peacetime" as did in the Vietnam War or Korea. I've known a LOT of people that died in "training accidents" over the 26 years I spent in the military. They're just as dead as if they were shot by the enemy. The VA does provide some services to anyone who served honorable, but not everything, and not everything for "free". A lot of people have paid a high price for some of that "free" care they DO receive. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2011-02-23 18:13 |
| #5 Pampered assholes, living fat off taxpayers money that's getting thinner and thinner. Maybe we could save some money by cutting VA (free medical benefits for life) for serving 4 years in a peacetime military. |
| Posted by: Omaque McGurque6692 2011-02-23 15:06 |
| #4 The Peoples' Republic of Maryland? |
| Posted by: Flesh Thud4308 2011-02-23 13:24 |
| #3 I ran an active consulting business up until recently. Any health care or retirement, I had to pay for all of it. In addition, I had to pay expenses in the business. If I needed any help, I had to contract for those services. In addition, I had to pay income taxes and self-employment tax (up to 13.3%) to the Feds. I don't have much sympathy for these whiny cry-baby union members who don't want to share their part of the load and who believe it is their inherent right to be supported by the taxpayers. Obama doesn't give a whit about the small business owner. They are not his voting base. I get frosted at how many times the unions have been to the Whitehouse since BO's election. The SEIU has been there some 58 times, the AFL-CIO head has been there nearly as many. They are going to have to install a revolving door in the Whitehouse and make it a bed and breakfast to accommodate the unions. They are trading votes for power. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2011-02-23 10:03 |
| #2 living fat off taxpayers money that's getting thinner and thinner. "hoping to retire & live for more years than they worked, off of promises of vast future taxes (which won't be coming in) and of vast investment income (which won't be happening)" The pension liabilities are UNFUNDED and likely to remain so, unless a miracle occurs, such as a huge solid gold meteorite smashing into a SEIU demonstration on the lawn of a state capitol. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2011-02-23 05:02 |
| #1 Come on out to the private sector where we don't have a pension, and have to pay 5% to get a 4% match in our 401K. Pampered assholes, living fat off taxpayers money that's getting thinner and thinner. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2011-02-23 00:15 |