For years, the cost of public employee pension funds has loomed as a grave danger to the financial stability of the City of Los Angeles -- the crisis is now at hand with massive investment losses and even larger unfunded liabilities.
LA taxpayers are on the hook to pay $1 billion next year and more than twice that in four years to keep the city's pension funds solvent.
With pensions of up to 90 percent of the highest pay, the cost for Fire and Police pensions could be 80 cents on the dollar of current payroll for those services within a few years.
Using the California Public Records Act, OurLA obtained the list of 286 Fire and Police Pension Fund recipients who are members of the $100,000 Club, with former Police Bernard Parks at $265.000 topping the list down to No. 286 Lt. Joseph Owens at just 56 cents over the six-figure mark.
Apart from losing 35 percent of its assets in the market, two members of the pension fund's board, appointed by the mayor and the union, were forced to resign as an outgrowth of a nationwide scandal over public employee pension funds and their links to investment advisers and private equity firms.
Here's the list of the LAFPP's 286 members of the $100,000 Pension Club:
What I find interesting is that during the mid-1980's when private sector employment was making "excessive" in comparison salaries and pension benefits. Public sector employees struggled and made megger wages and working conditions with the only carrot being the pension in 25-30 years if they survived to that age. Now that the tides have turned on private sector jobs and benefits have gone down and jobs have become less obtainable, you want to hammer public employees and blame them for your lot in life? We have progressed to being able to findly live among those we serve. We have taken the reduced income for the security of living on a public retirement for a job well done...like many successful private sector managers. Your $100,000 club isn't any different than mid-level and senior managers from successful companies. The titles of those listed were senior managers and some mid-level managers of large successful public entities that have done a commendable job. No different than their counterparts in the private sector...so please be fair when comparing pensions of public vs private...It wasn't always this way. It's about time that public safety whether police or fire, were able to enjoy a finacially sound retirement for they have endured.
Great idea from "happy city employee"; we should all go to work for the City or some other public entity/employer. Then we wouldn't have anymore private sector employers paying the taxes to help pay for our pensions! Brilliant....
All I hear is bitterness and jealousy from those who are not City employees. No one forced you to take a job in the private sector. Anyone may work for the City. Just take a Civil Service exam, pass the exam, and rank high enough on the list to get hired. We put in our time just like the private sector. 30 years later we receive a nice pension that we paid into over the course of our careers.
All I hear is bitterness and jealousy from those who are not City employees. No one forced you to take a job in the private sector. Anyone may work for the City. Just take a Civil Service exam, pass the exam, and rank high enough on the list to get hired. We put in our time just like the private sector. 30 years later we receive a nice pension that we paid into over the course of our careers.
To begin with all so called public servants should be limited to receiving only one pension eliminating double dipping this includes Police Chiefs Council members Mayors Governors etc. Firemen have been at the trough for longer than anyone the first boondogle was getting the rediculas work schedule where they are on call the majority of their shift and only have to go to the fire house which allows them the luxery of living out of the area. It alsoallows them to sleep, study for upcomming promotional exams, and manage their side businesses from the fire house while being very generosly paid by the city. The Police, Firemen and teachers have been able to wangle outragous pay and benefit packages by allowing the unions to sell their support to the politition who will best support them in the next round of contract barganing. Even LA's Mayor and City Council members should realize what a cherry job the y have when a thousand or more applicants show up for any oppening. Many cities throughout the country still have volunteer Fire Departments and do very well with very little cost and they have actual HERO'S not just highly paid mercenaries,but of course they are manned by citizens that live in the towns they service. As for life expectancy the police probably should get hazzard pay depending on the area they work but I know any number of old retired firemen living the good life at taxpayer expense and they contributed almost nothing when you compare what they receive.
Get off the public sector... who put 30 years of their lives on the line to serve and protect you.... Look to the private sector, the Savings and Loans, etc., who took money from you... and put us in a recession.
