Retirement Plan

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911
Posts: 1974
Joined: Sun Feb 27, 2005 8:58 am

Retirement Plan

Post by 911 »

Well, it's been a difficult place to work for the last two weeks. For those who haven't realized it yet, I am a 911 operator. Which is just part of my job. We do everything from 911 to sending someone to unlock a car door with a baby inside. Although I work for Public Safety, I am not consided a member of the "Public Safety" community. Which, on a side note, is crap. The only difference is I don't carry a gun or drive a police car.

OK, OK, it's a little more than that. But, what kills me is when there is a bomb threat in the building everyone leaves but us! If there is a tornado warning, everyone goes to the basement but us!

Anyway, our current retirement is 30 years with 60% of our pay with no state tax taken out, which means I will bring home just a tad less than I am now. Pretty good. There are other plans to this one, but I'm gonna stick to this since this is the only one that applies to me.

We, the county employees and the Public Service employees, had a vote to change our retirement plan which would increase our payout but also increase our retirement pay and let us leave after 25 years. The vote was less than democratic. We were split by county employees and Public Service employees. Public Service voted yes and county employees voted no. That left me in the 30 year program and the officers in a 25 year program.

So, the bill goes to the legislature. They stick it in the House and the Senate at the same time because they were late getting it in. It passed in the Senate but got thrown into a committee in the House by the most racist legislator we have. After a lot of calls to him at the office and his home, he took it out of committee and . . . killed it. DEAD!

Now you may be wondering why I care. Well, history has proven that if the officers get something, eventually we will too. Jealousy is a malicious monster.

So I called the legislator last night to see if he would save the bill and pass it if a civilian explained things to him. I got a lot of rhetoric about race and rich vs poor. How much money he has and how he wants to see his constiuents have the same privileges he had, what an honest man he is blah blah blah. :yh_ttth

But, he did say that he was going to put us on the state retirement plan which is number one in the country. OK. When? I said. By the end of the year, say he. I reminded him that there are those of us who will soon retire and we wish to be included and not miss the boat, do you promise me this will happen before the end of the year? Yes, he said. Another, sidebar, I am still very young (in retirement years) and when I retire, it will be a l o n g time before I will be eligable for Social Security so I need that bill to pass. If it does, I will walk out with 30 years at 70% of my pay, I think and hope.

The biggest thing is the officers are upset because the civilians will be getting the same thing they will. They always want to be so special. They don't want this to happen for everyone, just for them. HORAH! :yh_tong2

I just thought I would slip this in here to get it off my chest. One must be very careful what one says at the office right now. The officers are walking on their lips and being very surly. If I act happy about the new bill, they'll hate me or try to tell me not to trust this polititian (like I need to be told that).

Anyway, keep your fingers crossed for all of us. Thirty years is too long to be forced to stay in law enforcement as a civilian or an officer, on that we all agree.
When choosing between two evils, I always like to take the one I've never tried before.

Mae West
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zinkyusa
Posts: 3298
Joined: Wed Aug 23, 2006 6:34 am

Retirement Plan

Post by zinkyusa »

911;626500 wrote: Well, it's been a difficult place to work for the last two weeks. For those who haven't realized it yet, I am a 911 operator. Which is just part of my job. We do everything from 911 to sending someone to unlock a car door with a baby inside. Although I work for Public Safety, I am not consided a member of the "Public Safety" community. Which, on a side note, is crap. The only difference is I don't carry a gun or drive a police car.

OK, OK, it's a little more than that. But, what kills me is when there is a bomb threat in the building everyone leaves but us! If there is a tornado warning, everyone goes to the basement but us!

Anyway, our current retirement is 30 years with 60% of our pay with no state tax taken out, which means I will bring home just a tad less than I am now. Pretty good. There are other plans to this one, but I'm gonna stick to this since this is the only one that applies to me.

We, the county employees and the Public Service employees, had a vote to change our retirement plan which would increase our payout but also increase our retirement pay and let us leave after 25 years. The vote was less than democratic. We were split by county employees and Public Service employees. Public Service voted yes and county employees voted no. That left me in the 30 year program and the officers in a 25 year program.

So, the bill goes to the legislature. They stick it in the House and the Senate at the same time because they were late getting it in. It passed in the Senate but got thrown into a committee in the House by the most racist legislator we have. After a lot of calls to him at the office and his home, he took it out of committee and . . . killed it. DEAD!

Now you may be wondering why I care. Well, history has proven that if the officers get something, eventually we will too. Jealousy is a malicious monster.

So I called the legislator last night to see if he would save the bill and pass it if a civilian explained things to him. I got a lot of rhetoric about race and rich vs poor. How much money he has and how he wants to see his constiuents have the same privileges he had, what an honest man he is blah blah blah. :yh_ttth

But, he did say that he was going to put us on the state retirement plan which is number one in the country. OK. When? I said. By the end of the year, say he. I reminded him that there are those of us who will soon retire and we wish to be included and not miss the boat, do you promise me this will happen before the end of the year? Yes, he said. Another, sidebar, I am still very young (in retirement years) and when I retire, it will be a l o n g time before I will be eligable for Social Security so I need that bill to pass. If it does, I will walk out with 30 years at 70% of my pay, I think and hope.

The biggest thing is the officers are upset because the civilians will be getting the same thing they will. They always want to be so special. They don't want this to happen for everyone, just for them. HORAH! :yh_tong2

I just thought I would slip this in here to get it off my chest. One must be very careful what one says at the office right now. The officers are walking on their lips and being very surly. If I act happy about the new bill, they'll hate me or try to tell me not to trust this polititian (like I need to be told that).

Anyway, keep your fingers crossed for all of us. Thirty years is too long to be forced to stay in law enforcement as a civilian or an officer, on that we all agree.


911, how do you tell if a politician is lying?

if his lips are moving
You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted, then used against you.
RedGlitter
Posts: 15777
Joined: Thu Dec 22, 2005 3:51 am

Retirement Plan

Post by RedGlitter »

Although I work for Public Safety, I am not consided a member of the "Public Safety" community.

What a bunch of BS!! Where would we be without 911 workers!!?

It sounds like a whole lot of bogus red tape, 911. I hope it all falls into your favor.
911
Posts: 1974
Joined: Sun Feb 27, 2005 8:58 am

Retirement Plan

Post by 911 »

zinkyusa;626524 wrote: 911, how do you tell if a politician is lying?

if his lips are moving




Yeah. Kinda tough when you're on the phone with him.

So, I guess it goes: How can you tell if a politian is lying on the phone?

****** You hear his voice! :wah:
When choosing between two evils, I always like to take the one I've never tried before.

Mae West
911
Posts: 1974
Joined: Sun Feb 27, 2005 8:58 am

Retirement Plan

Post by 911 »

RedGlitter;626533 wrote: Although I work for Public Safety, I am not consided a member of the "Public Safety" community.

What a bunch of BS!! Where would we be without 911 workers!!?

It sounds like a whole lot of bogus red tape, 911. I hope it all falls into your favor.




Thanks Red, I needed that. You're a real sweetheart and thanks for the luck.

It's a different world out there in the land of law enforcement today. We used to be a real close community and would do anything for each other. I don't know what happened but I think it's the new kids on the force. Too much violence out there makes their heads swim and their egos bloom. They think of us as glorified secretaries there to do their bidding. But, who do they scream for when they're in trouble? ME! :-5
When choosing between two evils, I always like to take the one I've never tried before.

Mae West
911
Posts: 1974
Joined: Sun Feb 27, 2005 8:58 am

Retirement Plan

Post by 911 »

OK. I just thought I would update you guys that were kind enough to read my topic and those that posted.

A bill finally passed a couple of weeks ago that will allow us to retire after 25 years. We are on the state retirement, which is the best in the country and the man in charge is a whiz with investments. He has done a remarkable job with the state workers retirement money.

In this retirement, there is a 'drop program' that came about after the state decided to buy out a lot of the state employees and decrease costs. But, they found themselves in a jam when all of the older workers left and none of the younger workers knew how to do the job. So they created the 'drop program'. That allows those that wish to retire to stay and get a hefty bonus whille still working and getting paid. You sign up for 3 or 5 years and at the end you get a huge sum of money. That money coming from what you would have contributed to your retirement money.

Anyway, the bill passed for a 25 year retirement. Which means there will be a huge wave of people leaving by the end of this year, a few next year and another huge surge the year after.

I have 15 months to go until I have thirty years there (:-5) and I have decided to ride it out and walk out with 63% of my pay instead of 60%. I am too young for the drop program so once I leave, I ain't going back!!!

The officers get what is called 'stress pay'. That means they can buy 1 year for every 5 they have been there in order to get out sooner than 25 years. But that doesn't apply to civilians like me. Sucks, but I don't care, I'm leaving.

I just thought I would update you guys and let you know we got what we wanted and a little better. :-6
When choosing between two evils, I always like to take the one I've never tried before.

Mae West
User avatar
Lon
Posts: 9476
Joined: Fri Nov 12, 2004 11:38 pm

Retirement Plan

Post by Lon »

911;626500 wrote: Well, it's been a difficult place to work for the last two weeks. For those who haven't realized it yet, I am a 911 operator. Which is just part of my job. We do everything from 911 to sending someone to unlock a car door with a baby inside. Although I work for Public Safety, I am not consided a member of the "Public Safety" community. Which, on a side note, is crap. The only difference is I don't carry a gun or drive a police car.

OK, OK, it's a little more than that. But, what kills me is when there is a bomb threat in the building everyone leaves but us! If there is a tornado warning, everyone goes to the basement but us!

Anyway, our current retirement is 30 years with 60% of our pay with no state tax taken out, which means I will bring home just a tad less than I am now. Pretty good. There are other plans to this one, but I'm gonna stick to this since this is the only one that applies to me.

We, the county employees and the Public Service employees, had a vote to change our retirement plan which would increase our payout but also increase our retirement pay and let us leave after 25 years. The vote was less than democratic. We were split by county employees and Public Service employees. Public Service voted yes and county employees voted no. That left me in the 30 year program and the officers in a 25 year program.

So, the bill goes to the legislature. They stick it in the House and the Senate at the same time because they were late getting it in. It passed in the Senate but got thrown into a committee in the House by the most racist legislator we have. After a lot of calls to him at the office and his home, he took it out of committee and . . . killed it. DEAD!

Now you may be wondering why I care. Well, history has proven that if the officers get something, eventually we will too. Jealousy is a malicious monster.

So I called the legislator last night to see if he would save the bill and pass it if a civilian explained things to him. I got a lot of rhetoric about race and rich vs poor. How much money he has and how he wants to see his constiuents have the same privileges he had, what an honest man he is blah blah blah. :yh_ttth

But, he did say that he was going to put us on the state retirement plan which is number one in the country. OK. When? I said. By the end of the year, say he. I reminded him that there are those of us who will soon retire and we wish to be included and not miss the boat, do you promise me this will happen before the end of the year? Yes, he said. Another, sidebar, I am still very young (in retirement years) and when I retire, it will be a l o n g time before I will be eligable for Social Security so I need that bill to pass. If it does, I will walk out with 30 years at 70% of my pay, I think and hope.

The biggest thing is the officers are upset because the civilians will be getting the same thing they will. They always want to be so special. They don't want this to happen for everyone, just for them. HORAH! :yh_tong2

I just thought I would slip this in here to get it off my chest. One must be very careful what one says at the office right now. The officers are walking on their lips and being very surly. If I act happy about the new bill, they'll hate me or try to tell me not to trust this polititian (like I need to be told that).

Anyway, keep your fingers crossed for all of us. Thirty years is too long to be forced to stay in law enforcement as a civilian or an officer, on that we all agree.


I would encourage you to not depend entirely on your pension and Social Security for your retirement. Contribute all you can into an IRA as well and save/invest some $$$$ in addition.
911
Posts: 1974
Joined: Sun Feb 27, 2005 8:58 am

Retirement Plan

Post by 911 »

Lon;874299 wrote: I would encourage you to not depend entirely on your pension and Social Security for your retirement. Contribute all you can into an IRA as well and save/invest some $$$$ in addition.


Thanks, Lon.

I have several other investments in addition to my retirement. Especially since it will be a while before SS kicks in.
When choosing between two evils, I always like to take the one I've never tried before.

Mae West
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