Jackson Jambalaya

If they change the plan for current emoloyees, the few qualified employees with masters degrees and certifications will leave. There’s a handful of qualified people who got burnt out and disillusioned with all the long hours and high stress of the corporate world, who recognized how sweet PERS really is and jumped ship to state government.

If they screw with pers for current employees, a lot of the good ones will leave. It won’t be worth it any more.

So, they get to retire at an early age and get healthcare and retirement while us private sector (employers of State workers) have to struggle and work until we are in our 70’s and 80’s. This ought to be outlawed and privatization of many state services should go into effect.

Good. It is only just since State employees make 41% less than State workers in the Southeast, and 35% less than state workers in contiguous states (yes, even Alabama) and haven’t received a COLA in a decade, much less a yearly COLA like federal emoloyees. I hope PERS members vote against Tate and the rest.

I am a PERS retiree and like the system just fine. With any luck at all I will dead soon enough and you Bigger Pie Folks can change the payout any which way you want.

Until then leave me with my fat 13th check. It's little enough for my years of diligent hard work and slavish devotion to the needs of our citizens.

@ 3:42

Early age? If you consider a 30 year retirement plan early then iI guess.

Get ready for your haircut PERS folks. PERS is unsustainable and when it melts down YOU WILL participate in the misery.

@3:39

At some point in your life (probably several points) you had an opportunity to apply to go to work for the state....if you think it's that great of a gig why didn't you ? I had chances but couldn't afford to because of lower wages than I wanted to make. Most state jobs are relatively low paying with the trade off being the benefits.

Retirees don’t get free healthcare. Good Job!!!

The truth--State Employees could not handle the truth about their role in the world.

As I understand the COLA in regard to current employees and retirees of the State of Mississippi, the legislature can't alter any part of the retirement plan. These individuals have a contract with the state of Mississippi. What they can and should do is alter the plan for new employees.

3:39, if you would get your facts straight, you might get more folks agreeing with your logic. State retirees don't get healthcare when they retire. They pay the full price (employee+employer share) if they so elect to stay on state insurance. Most either opt in to a new policy, go on their spouse's coverage or take Medicare at age 60, but very few could ever afford to pay full price for state coverage..

Who gets paid to write articles for think tanks? Who in the world edited this piece.....in no shape or form should any article about fixing PERS include the words "easy fix". Come on man!

Let’s git out of this agricultural state of mind and bring in industry. Then we can fill the state coffers with taxes because EVERYONE will be making a decent wage!

PERS may need overhauling, but not at the expense of retirees and current state employees, who had no choice but to participate in the retirement plan, with the promise of a defined pension benefit.

Does a retired PERS employee have a contractural relationship upon retirement that would bind PERS to the 3% annual increase for that retiree? I presume the not-yet-retired PERS employee would be subject to a “cola” change? In any event, does anyone know of an attorney or person who really does understand the rights of a person covered by PERS?

If they are not being paid what they are worth then leave for a better job. Real simple.

No, we don’t get to retire at an early age, and no
we don’t get free healthcare. I retired at 60 after
37 years of service. Having worked for a county
I was not eligible for the State Health plan and
could keep the County’s Health insurance as long
as I paid 120% of what a current employee
was paying. Now I buy Health coverage on the
open market ( $900.00 per month $6,000.00 deductible).
Retirees from the State pay there on insurance premiums
I agree changes need to be made, but not at the
expense of current retirees.

4:20, what a nasty thing to say. Many state employees work very hard and are proud to serve Mississippians. They are good people, doing good work, and making a positive difference in the world. Guaranteed, you benefit from the work of state employees everyday.

It would be interesting to know how much money that The financial gurus who advise the PERS investments crew, made off of PERS since 1999.SEE (State Pension Plans Would Be Better Off Avoiding External Management Fees)

3:51 said, "Early age? If you consider a 30 year retirement plan early then iI guess."

I'm floored that anyone would consider retiring after 30 years. So at age 50 you want to sit on your butt and expect to get paid while watching "The View"?

I've been working 40 years and plan to never retire. Keep working, keep working out, keep learning and pushing yourself. The result will be low boredom and a high quality of life.

Feel has already announced the state has found the extra $75,000,000 needed to bring the PERS fund to 61% funded.

Early age? "they get healthcare"? Neither is true. And as to the claim that many people opt for such jobs due to benefits of retirement 20-30-40 years up the road, that's nonsense. I've never heard of a soul who claimed he quite a private sector job and opted for PERS covered employment because of that. Nor have you. The stress and lack of appreciation in these jobs outpaces that of the private sector every day of the week.

And, yes...when government provides a handbook of benefits to employees, that is contractual and its terms are obligatory, unless the system is reworked and a revised handbook issued. I can't help that you don't like this or that YOUR employer might not do the same. But, it's a fact.

With one 13th check we could "build the wall" (on County Line Road), and have some left over for a pretty good time in Vegas.

All you armchair experts who want to change the way PERS pays it’s obligations to those of us who are retired need to stand down and shut the hell up about things of which you have no real knowledge. I retired at 65 with 30 years of service as a law enforcement officer (now tell me all about how you “didn’t get any benefit from any retiree”.) Like I said you don’t have a clue about what we did to get our retirement .

NOTE TO WANNABE Politicians: TRY TO MESS WITH OUR COLA AND YOU WILL LOSE THE KEEP YOUR JOB CONTEST!!!
There are many of us and we VOTE, as do our families and friends.

The only way to legally do what is proposed is to grandfather all employees up to a certain effective date. 1-1-20 perhaps, and then change all retirement benefits from that date forward. Call me what you will but my wife has 15 years with the state. She's not going to quit or go part time until she is able to retire and get full benefits. May people chose working for the state because of the retirement system. Like it or love it, its what they signed up for.

Perhaps somebody with standing should ask for an AG opinion to do away with all of this speculation?

It's a Ponzi scheme sold as a retirement plan that creates drone slaves who will chase that pension to their grave....and endure severe neglect and abuse at their jobs to do so....guess what? Look at the data.....the fat cats have already got theirs locked in at the top. One only has to look at the amounts being paid out in the last 8-10 years to see who benefitted. The program is unsustainable....almost like a mini-version of Social Security....too few paying into to cover the HUGELY boosted pensions the old-timers are now getting, and who did in fact "game" the system the last few years to get it. Only a State Auditor could maybe do something about it....but he appears to already be in on the scam and doesn't want to be too unpopular. He needs those Mississippi inbreds to secure higher office.

Rep. Jeff Smith posted on his facebook page that the COLA benefit needs to be looked at and maybe "adjusted". State retirees in Lowndes County - you need to know this and remember Jeff when he comes up on the ballot later in the year.

Disclaimer: I’m currently receiving retirement from PERS

1. Reduce COLA to 2%. That seems to be more in line with inflation over the last 30 or so years.

2. Require all COLA to be received monthly, calculated with regular benefits, so that the uninformed will quit referring to the COLA as a bonus.

3. Fund the system properly

4. STFU.

I have no problem with state retirees receiving a 13th check - except for
those that were drawing higher salaries at the time of retirement. EX: school
superintendents, principals, dept. heads, athletic directors, coaches, directors, etc.
Their regular monthly retirement payment is more than adequate. It's not too long after retirement their 13th checks are 20,000 plus, and grow each year at a ridiculous pace.
It's great that secretaries, regular classroom teachers, and others have the current
COLA to depend on. But higher paid employees - that system needs to be reconsidered.
It would be interesting to have public records, or examples to review.

9:47, who decides what a "higher" salary is? Is it by position or an arbitrary salary limit? Think it through and you'll see how a crafty SPB could reverse engineer the policy.

9:44, good for you, and you're welcome; I hope the you're enjoying the lifestyle I subsidize with the taxes that are confiscated from me by the state.

1. Absolutely no, if the COLA is continued, it should not be a fixed number, it should be tied to an indicator of economic health in the state. As we all know, Mississippi often does not follow national trends with respect to economic growth, inflation, etc.

2. Absolutely no again, inasmuch as I disagree with the lump sum payment, and barring any revision to the system, folks should be able to choose how they receive their benefit. The public just needs to be educated on how it is calculated.

3. Please give us a concrete idea of what "properly" funded means, along with three realistic ideas on how you would accomplish it.

4. Absolutely no again - as a taxpayer, I help to fund this system and will not shut the fuck up.

Offering anything other than solutions is just meaningless blather and complaining. That said, the heart of this issue is a retirement system that is tantamount to a bribe for votes, is antiquated and unsustainable.

The state should consolidate all employees (even the precious troopers and legislators) to a singular retirement vehicle consisting of a 403(b) with a match. It's time to stop coddling public employees and begin to treat them as adults.

I'm sure a few of my readers won't like me writing this, but I'll do so anyway. I see quite a few government employees because of this website. Yes, there are slugs, especially over at North and Amite Streets. However, I see quite a few employees who work their asses off. I've seen them work hard, show up, and care about the work they do. Matter of fact, I've seen quite a few slugs working in the private sector as well.

9:47

Yes, should be public info. Hopefully KF will post some.

If you have a sensible solution to solve any problem and you are promoting it in this state, 99 percent of your energy is an excercise in futility with the politicians we have. Good luck. You’ll need it.

Thank you Kingfish!

A sh*t load of Mississippians hate government but are always waging their dainty little fingers in the air when sh*t is not running properly around here.

Look, people, you can't expect premium services at dirt cheap prices!

This state puts nothing into its infrastructure. always waits until sh*t is totally f*cked up, then they want to fix it when it going to cost the state more money to fix it, when we should have been doing the basic maintenance to annually to keep it up!?

Prime example, state workers are the lowest paid in the country. Haven't had realignment in 11+ years, the legislature has cut agency budgets, cut agency PINs, and we have a sh*t load of state workers eligible for retirement.

This is a man-made problem created by the Mississippi legislature.

Agencies operating with less, operating with antiquated systems and equipment, and people wonder why there are issues!? This all rolls into the problem with PERS.

Tate Reeves does not deserve a promotion! If you work for the state and want to make that man the big boss, you are a grade A idiot!

NEVER TATER!

To "December 27, 2018 at 4:31 PM," who wrote, "...very few could ever afford to pay full price for state [insurance] coverage.."

I am a new retiree on PERS and have no problem paying my full health insurance bill, along with my insurance premiums for vehicles, house and personal property, earthquake, flood, and life. All but one state retirees of my acquaintance (which is a lot, after 30+ years of state employment) also pay their own health insurance premium without issue. They take the premium out of our retirement check, and we calculate our retirement benefit accordingly before we decide to retire.

Can somebody accurately explain how the COLA payment is calculated? It isn't compounded year over year is it, and does it take into consideration years of service?

The COLA equals 3% of the annual base retirement allowance for each full fiscal year of retirement, with the 3% compounded beginning with the fiscal year in which the retired member reaches age 55.

Election of a monthly COLA payment (instead of the 13th check) is an irrevocable election.

Note that might be of interest for senior care planning: In order to qualify for Medicaid, a person receiving PERS benefits will need to change his/her COLA payment to monthly, as receiving the lump sum COLA as a 13th check will affect Medicaid eligibility.

Pensions are a relic. Any old goat like me on a private pension is on a defined contribution plan, fixed and yes eroded by inflation. Harsh fact. Politicians promise what other politicians who replace them cannot deliver. action on the COLA is years overdue. has nothing to do with employee competence, reality. Federal pensions would be in trouble with not for our fiat money system, running up a debt that cannot ever be paid down.

2:03 was not a school teacher nor a cop. Maybe a school administrator or desk warrior in MHP. It’s about $800 per month for health insurance so congrats to you. No need to brag.

2:36 - Google is your friend. Google PERS MISSISSIPPI and select retiree benefits. You'll find your answers there. It's written on a seventh grade reading level so it would not be suitable for this audience.

PERS employee here. I only have about 4 years in, but I'm 100% fine with tying COLA to CPI.

I'd wager if you sat down and explained the problem with straightforward numbers and comparisons to other states, the vast majority of folks in my position would be, too.

After all, it's still a really good deal.

State employees can’t opt out of PERS! It’s forced like social security for everyone else, except they pay into that as well. They have no control over the investment of their contributions, such as with a 401k. This is part of the employees employment contract. Given that I think the state is getting a great deal! Consider that state employees in Mississippi make less than any othe state in the union. It’s a contract that I doubt the legislature is willing to break. With the current law makers it is possible. I believe in small government, but the current leaders believe in anarchy!

KF @ 11:18 "...I see quite a few employees who work their asses off..."

"Quite a few?" Could you quantify that? Should be 100%

Doesn't matter that you've "...seen quite a few slugs working in the private sector as well." We don't pay their salaries.

Mississippians are the lowest paid in the U.S., REGARDLESS of whether they work for state government, or a private company, or a non-profit.

So quit bitching about "lowest paid". The taxes that pay for your shit come out of the pockets of the rest of the "lowest paid in the nation"... aka Mississippi tax payers.

Some non-pers commenters on here illustrate why it’s such a “joy” to be in public service in Mississippi (or anywhere else, for that matter). *begin whiney voice* “I pay your salary” “I pay for your retirement”. This “public support” coupled with 1)working for politicians who are more worried about reelection than doing what is right, 2)endless public interactions with citizens who are rude, while having to be polite and respectful lest the politicians look bad 3) being paid less than market value, with poor health insurance, and 4)walking a maze of public law, any one of which can put you squarely on the state auditors naughty list and destroy your integrity without a hint of due process. All because I love my state and I want to make it better. I think we have dang well earned a good retirement.

Public sector employees are held to a much higher standard...yet some members of the public want the cheapest government possible...and then complain when low paid employees aren’t outstanding employees. Do you want cheap government or good government...because the two are mutually exclusive. I’ve seen that firsthand for many years.

To the "I pay your salary" commenters:

Do you really think private sector employees are the only people who pay taxes to fund the public sector?

Really?

In response to Kingfish's comment about slugs in public/ private sector, a thoughtful doctor once made a persuasive argument that 75% of the workforce are slugs, in every profession. He was responding to me questioning why there were so many stupid doctors.

One of the many great things about this country is that you have the ability to MOVE, if you don't like your social or economic circumstances, MOVE; if you don't like the politics of where you live, MOVE; quit bitching and GET AFTER IT!

At 9:27 (who, himself, is just another chirper who has no knowledge of how any of this works). So, you pay my salary (if I'm a state, county, municipal or MHP worker). Well, so do I. I pay the same taxes you do. So, I'm taking my pay and paying part of it back in state taxes that pay my salary. Plus I'm performing the services that you expect and deserve.

So quit your silly bitching about 'you pay my salary', if I'm a PERS covered employee.

December 29, 2018 at 3:22 AM

You might want to ask someone to explain where taxes come from and where public employees "get" their paychecks.

For simple logic, what if everyone was a public employee. Who would pay taxes that gave the public employees paychecks so that said taxes could be removed.

To 6:26 - this is 2:03. It's true I was not a school teacher nor a cop, but I don't see how that is relevant to the discussion. Are the MHP and school plans different from the state employee plan? Note that PERS just administers the plans. I was a state employee with a BS degree and I retired earlier in 2018. My health insurance premium for the state BC/BS insurance is $432 per month, about the same as it was when the state was paying the premium. I don't know where you got $800 from. Go check your paperwork.

"State employees can’t opt out of PERS! "

Wrong. I taught at UMMC from 2000 to 2016 and did not participate in PERS. When I left I cashed out my retirement savings. Maybe all state employees don't have that option. It's much better from some employees to handle their own retirement than to let the state handle it, and to rely on the state.

3:16 - Only a select few have the option you claim to have had. But, if you did not participate, what did you 'cash out'?

95% or better state, municipal and county employees have no option as to participating or not.

The majority of state employees cannot opt out of PERS.

I'm pretty sure it's executive level administrators, coaches, and faculty at the IHL universities who can opt out of PERS.

If he opted out, what the hell did he cash out? Goober has no clue.

Actually, very few can opt out of PERS. 99% cannot.

https://www.orp.ms.gov/Pages/Home.aspx

University faculty can opt out. If they couldn't we wouldn't be able to recruit at all. I don't know a single faculty member hired in the last 7-8 years who has opted for PERS. I'm not saying there aren't any just that the opt out clause is huge when recruiting. Those that opt out also pay a penalty to PERS for doing so. They do have the option of several private plans which you can cash out when you leave. PERS isn't an incentive to most new employees period, because they don't believe it will be there. It is getting darn hard to recruit state employees in many sectors. Good health insurance and retirement used to be an incentive. Now the health insurance is "the best of the worst" as many of my physicians say and the retirement is far from a guarantee even when almost ten percent of your salary is taken off the top with no control. You may get someone for a year, or two who knows as soon as they gain a little experience they are headed private. They are doing exactly what many of the rest of us would do if we didn't already have many years in the system.

9:31 - If everybody were a public employee, we would not HAVE taxes. Think about it. (I know this will twist you up for awhile.)

And, for 8:28...Please identify some of these 'university faculty members' who 'go private after a year' and tell me what the hell they do in the private sector. If they could function in the private sector, they would not be faculty members in the first place.

1:47

Perhaps you understand now. You would not HAVE taxes because there would be no income to tax

1:47:
8:28 is most likely referring to the physicians on the med school faculty, who are state employees while they are at the med school. Many leave for private practice to double or triple their income.

It's clear 8:28 has experience in this area, whereas you don't have a clue.

3:35 For those who opt out of PERS there are alternative investment options.

@1:47 am you don't know much about university faculty if you don't realize that many of them serve as consultants for the private sector and/or conducting valuable research for them. It is exactly that attitude shared by far too many in this state that contribute to the brain drain. We educate many people in medicine, engineering, polymers (among other things) and employee them temporarily in academe and many of them will find private sector jobs.

This is 2:03 & 12:07. Just for clarification I just got my notice from PERS for 2019 and my state retiree health insurance has gone up to $445 per month. Still not $800.