Trump Budget to Cut Federal Pensions

Cato Institute ^ | May 22, 2017 | Chris Edwards

[abb]

The Trump administration’s 2018 budget to be released tomorrow will include a range of proposed spending cuts. The budget will call for cuts to food stamps, Medicaid, and other entitlement programs. These reforms come on top of proposed cuts to discretionary programs released in March.

There is more good news. The budget will propose cuts to the fat benefit packages received by federal workers. An April CBO report found that benefits for the government’s civilian workers were 47 percent higher, on average, than for comparable private-sector workers.

One cause of the excess is that federal workers receive both a defined-benefit and defined-contribution pension plan. Pensions and other benefits for the 2.1 million federal civilian workers cost taxpayers about $80 billion a year (excluding postal workers). So federal benefits are a good place in the budget to tap for savings.

The Washington Post reports that the Trump budget will propose these reforms:

Increasing the required worker contribution to defined-benefit (DB) pension plans. Basing DB benefits on the average of the top five salary years rather than the top three. Ending cost of living increases for DB payouts.

These would be reasonable and long-overdue changes. Indeed, a better reform would be to phase out DB benefits for federal workers altogether. After all, just 13 percent of private sector workers even have DB plans. Federal compensation packages should reflect typical packages in the rest of the nation.

The Washington Post said, “The thought of Trump’s assault on federal retirement programs becoming law enrages federal employee leaders.” It certainly does. The paper quotes union leaders calling the proposals an “outrageous attack,” “downright mean,” and “beyond insulting.”

On the contrary, trimming the 47 percent advantage in benefits enjoyed by federal workers is a sensible attack on overspending. Furthermore, it is mean and insulting to taxpayers to give gold-plated pensions to workers inside the government bubble, especially since those favored few also have much higher job security than the rest of us.

[sickoflibs]

More interested in what is and is not in the budget he signs into law.

[blueunicorn6]

Here are some things to consider with federal civilian employees:

1. Step Increases - Mandatory increases to pay based on years at the job. “I’m a General Schedule (GS) 12, Step 4.” They only talk about the increases in the funding acts.

2. Desk Audits - Employees request these to raise their General Schedule (GS) level. “I was a GS-11, but after the Desk Audit, I’m now a GS-12.”

3. Bonuses - Bonuses given by one government employee to another government employee.

[hal ogen]

Those government “workers” who do “work hard” aren’t doing anyone any favors. What they “produce” is usually caustic to civil society.

[abb]

Indeed. The first task is to evaluate what they do, and determine whether it should even be done. Kinda like when bad weather hits DC, and they let “non-essential employees” go home.

If they’re non-essential, why were they even hired?

[hal ogen]

To top it off, when ever they go home for weather or anything else, they eventually get paid for that time...always. It is yet another paid vacay for these slackers.

[Jane Long]

Great reference article, for the low-info/lib WaComPost drinkers....like Chuck U Schumer...who’s been out lying about the budget, already today.

[DoughtyOne]

FReepers, it's time to get serious about retiring this FReep-a-thon.


Free Republic, the Home of the Eternal FReeper, Conservatism's Finest  (timely thoughts on the FReeper dynamic and Free Republic)

Ramirez political cartoon: Impeachment Chicken Little LARGE VERSION 05/20/2017: LINK  LINK to regular sized versions of his political cartoons (archive).

Please join the monthlies, an automated way to help support Free Republic.

If you are not opting to join the automated monthly support program, please consider joining the One One Done project.  LINK

FReepers, 55.28% of the Second Quarter FReep-a-thon goal has been met.  Click above and pencil in your donation now.  Please folks, lets end this FReepathon.  Thank you!
...this is a general all-purpose message, and should not be seen as targeting any individual I am responding to...

[Sequoyah101]

Oh, but they make more because they are so much smarter than the average private sector worker.

BS

[itsahoot]

I'm guessing they show up late, make a coffee........

You left off the porn viewing.

[cgbg]

One minor tweak that will vastly increase the effectiveness of this plan is to delay implementation by a short period (30 or 60 or 90 days) after enactment.

The reason that is important is that if you want employees to retire you need to give them a risk/reward decision timeframe.

If it is implemented immediately then there is no benefit for retiring quickly since the new rules will hit retirees regardless of whether they retire early or later in the new fiscal year.

[dragnet2]

benefits for the government’s civilian workers were 47 percent higher, on average, than for comparable private-sector workers.

For a free country, this is a disgrace.

[VideoDoctor]

About time they cut the allotment from the Federal feeding trough.

[ducttape45]

I know the anti-federal government crowd are going to start taking their shots. In a way, they are right in doing so. I've seen so much waste in the federal government I'd probably be a star witness if ever asked to testify.

But I want to make something perfectly clear. Though there are those who have abused the federal pension system, there are those of us who work for Uncle Sam for meager wages with little to no recognition for our efforts. People say that perhaps 1 in 5 actually do any work, well, I'm that "1," as are many others I know and associate with.

I've been fortunate enough to now work in a building where people appreciate the work I do for them. I don't get paid any more than I used to, but the recognition goes a long way towards soothing the anger that comes with being relegated to a low paid support staff role, though I have two IT degrees and three certifications.

I say all this to say, "don't throw the baby out with the bath water." Keep in mind that there are hard working people in the federal system who do not and will not make lots of money and who will receive a meager retirement when we do reach the age when we can do so.

[Rome2000]

I’m not going to debate you on the subject, if you did technical writing then you were working with people with brains.

They also had a work product that could be evaluated and quantified.

Not the case with most of what I have seen.

I see people collecting checks they don’t deserve participating in basically a federally funded jobs program that would be out of business in a few months in the private sector.

To add insult to injury, good luck getting on the gravy train if you are the wrong skin color, not related by kin, or not a homosexual.

[dragnet2]

I worked at almost 20 different agencies, and the vast majority were competent, hard-working, friendly folks.

Hard working but produce nothing? Government bureaucrats?

Begs the question; Then why in tarnation is government so inept, wasteful, corrupt, bloated, redundant and deceptive?

[Rusty0604]

A good start. The unions will fight this tooth and nail.

[elpadre]

“I have worked alongside federales. From what I saw, one in five actually worked. If that.”

Many years ago when I had to do business with the federal government I often found them reading paperback books or doing their nails.

[mom4melody]

I’m a Federal employee and I work my ass off.

I cam from 25 years in the private sector and it took ten years for my salary to catch up and benefits? Are you kidding? My private sector job had bennies. This is a joke.

But I’m serving my country, and that’s important. It really bites to work hard and come here and see all the negative comments, especially when a lot of them are wrong.

[dragnet2]

Don’t respond to me in PM. Do it right here on the open forum.

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

The Establishment has been pitting us against each other — poor vs. wealthy. I had been praying for a leader to aim the scissors at the very source of our problems — BIG govt with its BIG perks.