Federal Employees

I'm glad that I receive the print edition of the Washington Post because a gem such as the following comes along quite often:

Federal Answers: How would you be affected if you had to pay more into your pension plan?

We asked:
What would be the personal financial impact of President Obama’s call for an increase in contributions by federal employees to their pension plan of 1.2 percentage points?

You said:

I am a federal retiree (37 years of service). Here are my thoughts on the proposals being tossed around regarding federal workers (and retirees), including paying more for retirement.

■We grouse that we are not paid enough; we have to pay too much for health insurance, blah, blah, blah. The truth is: We are at the top of the employment food chain. Where else does one get a pension indexed for inflation, and one for which we pay a pittance? The rule of thumb is that we draw within two and a half years everything we pay in. To date, I have drawn very close to half a million dollars; if I live another 20 years (which is reasonable), I will draw another 1.5 million bucks. Did I “earn” that by anything I did while working for the government. Nope. Should my retirement pay be cut? Yep.

■Why do I have to pay Federal Employees Health Benefits premiums and still have to have Medicare (I did not take Part B)? Why cannot federal retirees at least be given the chance to opt out? And should I pay more for my FEHB plan? Yep.

■So many workers in this country are deeply hurting. One in 6 of us lives in poverty, and still federal workers and their unions . . . moan about how awful the government is to them. Ask any federal retiree, and you will be told something to the effect of “you could cut the federal workforce a good 30 percent and not lose much.” Think of what a money saver that would be.

Charles W. Walton

Contrast the above with this one, which also appears on the same page:

I think the federal workforce has been targeted enough. We took a two-year pay freeze without blinking an eye, but asking us to fund more into our retirement is asking for a pay cut on top of the pay freeze. . . .The FERS retirement system is terrible to begin with in terms of money received after retirement. Paying more for less is asking us federal workers too much.

Where were the overpaid contractors and private industry employees when the economy was robust and the federal workforce just chugged along, making lots less money? They said nothing but collected their large paychecks. Now that the wheels have turned, they want us to sacrifice for their benefit.I’ve been a federal employee for 26 years and plan on retiring in a little over three years, and I feel the public has had their hand in my pocket long enough.

Joe Plunkard

In my view, America is already embroiled in the early stages of class warfare. Frankly, I can't imagine that things will get any better for several years. Resentments are piling up, and, of course, Obama is promoting those resentments via his tax-the-rich theme. Were Americans not patient, we'd already have reaching the tipping point.

Additional statistics HERE, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Take a look!