TIER 6 A HUGE DEFEAT FOR THE NEXT GENERATION

 (This post originally from March 18, 2012, was written by James Eterno.)

No spin from NYSUT or Leo Casey or President Mulgrew on the legislation to stick anyone hired in April or thereafter with a Tier VI pension.  (Tell any paras that haven't joined the TRS to do so immediately.)  This is another crushing defeat for working people that will yield no savings today as current employees and retirees are not impacted.

For those yet to be hired, the legislature and governor wiped away virtually all of the pension gains we made over the last thirty years.  A new teacher or new state employee will have to work until they are sixty three to receive a full pension which will only be 55% of final average salary according to what I read.  Final average salary has been increased from the average of the last five years of employment instead of three.

I remember when I started working and all of the people who were on Tier I told those of us who were on Tier IV how horrible our pension was.  Now we will have to face the Tier VI people and tell them they are in it for the real long haul if they want to make teaching a career. It is the same for other civil servants across New York State.

Think about a twenty-two year old new college graduate who wants to become a teacher.  That person will have to work forty-one years to qualify for a full pension. This is not a very pleasant prospect.

With the attack on teachers and other public employees continuing unabated, could anyone encourage a young person to get into this line of work?

What about those COPE contributions?  We don't seem to have much influence with the legislature these days.