Gladly contributing to those who need it

I'm responding to Robert Finkel's Aug. 17 comments regarding state-funded retirement funds. He states, "Anyone who wants a pension when they retire should earn it the old fashioned way - they should pay into it themselves."

As a recent recipient of a partially state-funded pension, I take issue with some of his logic. I don't know what pension plans Mr. Finkel has for himself but the odds would suggest that Social Security might be a part of them. According to the Social Security Administration website, the average payout for retirees is $1,164 monthly, or $13,968 per year; the maximum contribution from employees is $8,170 per year (7.65 percent of the maximum $106,800 salary limit). That means the average social security recipient gets $5,798 per year more than he could have contributed his very first year of receiving retirement benefits.

Retirees getting more than the average get even more per year than they could have contributed. It is likely recipients did not pay the maximum amount throughout their worklives, so the average pension is most likely far above the average pay-in over that time. The only way Social Security recipients solely pay for their benefits is if they were self-employed. The rest comes from employers and other workers who pay in but do not collect Social Security benefits. Such as myself.

Because of my state pension I am ineligible to collect Social Security benefits; I forfeited that sum, which I paid during more than 20 years of eligible employment. Social Security and, in fact, all pensions, reflect the governments' wisdom to help insure the well-being of those who built and served the society in which we all live as they leave the work force. I happily contribute my social security payments to those who need it, regardless of their viewpoints concerning my own pension.

Al Hlinak

Glen Ellyn