Mike Causey

Pension Jumps 35 Percent in 60 Days

One government employee has figured out how to boost her pension 35 percent with just 60 days of extra service. Senior Correspondent Mike Causey unravels the my...

Federal News Network Staff

May 28, 2008 4:00 am

2 min read

What’s the dumbest career move you ever made? (For some of you this may require some time!)

While mistakes come in all varieties there is one that most of you reading this are guilty of. It is: You went to work for the government. That’s where you went wrong.

Actually, working for the government isn’t a bad deal. The trick is to pick the right government. This is where Uncle Sam falls flat. When it comes to governments, he’s a tightwad obviously out to stifle hustling employees.

Example:

Thanks to careful planning, a little luck and (dare we even think it?) friends in high places, a public servant in Illinois has reportedly boosted her final pension by nearly $38,000 a year. All she had to do was work an extra 30 days. To be sure (and who could blame her?) she worked an extra 60 days just to seal the deal. Can’t be too careful, you know!

Here’s the deal. The individual in question served in 5 terms in the House before being elected to the Senate. Her total government service entitled her to receive an annuity of about $64,000 a year. And she, like other legislators, is guaranteed a 3 percent increase each year in that pension. Not bad for government work…

But to make the golden years even more so, she took a higher paying job on the staff of the chief executive. Under pension rules she only had to work one month at the higher salary to boost her final annuity by $37,995. That brought it up to $102,000 a year. Certainly a living wage for most retirees. Just to be sure she would qualify for the bigger pension, she worked two months instead of the one month required. You can’t be too careful, you know.

Impossible you say. Not really. Oh, impossible where you work but not where she worked. The 63-year old in question served in the Illinois state legislature and then, in her final two months in government, switched to the governor’s office. That entitled her have more money when she joins the Sun and Shuffleboard Circuit in retirement.

This is what I meant earlier about working for the wrong government. She was with the Illinois state government. She said there is nothing wrong with what she did, and it is all perfectly legal. Makes you wonder if she is the first to do it, or if this happens all the time.

Maybe the federal government (where the high-3 year average salary rules) could learn a thing or two (as in high-two months) from the Illinois state government.

Before you saddle up the family and head for the Illinois state employment office, check out the details. We’re trying to find out if they have Pay for Performance like you do. Click here and weep.

Nearly Useless Factoid

Despite what you may have heard about the kind found in West Virginia WalMarts, most of the nearly 2,000 kinds of scorpions are not dangerous to humans.

To reach me: mcausey@federalnewsradio.com