Change needed in retirement system

A tsunami is approaching Illinois taxpayers in the form of government employee pensions. Recently, state Rep. Tom Morris stated that the current police/firemen pensions are unsustainable. In a recent letter to the editor, a writer said 63 percent of School District 211's retired teachers receive pensions that exceed $100,000.

Many taxpayers are unaware that these pension benefits are established by the state and they are very generous. Police and firemen can retire at age 55 with 30 years of service and collect 75 percent of salary. They can retire with 20 years and qualify for 50 percent. Teachers hired prior to 2011 can retire at age 60 with 35 years of service and collect 75 percent of their salary.

With 20 years of service, they can retire at 44 percent. Furthermore, and this is costly, pensions for police, firemen and teachers increase 3 percent compounded.

Compare this to the private sector where your years of service are multiplied by a factor, say 1.6. If you work for 30 years, you get a pension equal to 48 percent of your salary, about the same as a teacher with 20 years and you can't retire until you are 65 without taking a penalty. And your pension is never increased.

The only solution is a constitutional amendment to allow reforms and moving new workers to a 401(k)-style plan. Failing this, growing pension promises and their ever-increasing impact on taxes can only add to the migration of folks out of Illinois already under way.

Richard Kaiser

Elk Grove Village