Well the state is poised to pass legislation today that will force all state employees (active and retired) to chose between health care insurance ( which we will have to pay an unknown premium for) and annual cost of living raises once retired. We are supposed to be guaranteed 3% cola per year that is compounded. They are saying it is not unconstitutional because they are giving everyone a choice. They are really providing no choice at all. Obviously, I will have to keep my health insurance.

It means my monthly pension will be flat for 5 years and then you can get an annual cola that is not compounded that is 1/2% of the increase in the cost of living -- no higher than 3%. Part of the money we pay into the pension is supposed to fund the colas. I retired thinking my pension would increase by 3% every year

The problem is that the state has not paid its share into the pensions for years and instead has "borrowed" (stolen) the money for other projects. This will be immediately challenged in the courts as the state constitution guarantees the pension benefits that are in effect when you are hired. But it could take years of litigation. They are leaving state judges out of the changes to their pensions so they would not be biased against the legislation.

What a rackett the Gov't has going, huh..

King Ricky pulled that stunt on the state employees here too. Everybody and their uncle has a lawsuit on it. It only affects people who retired in 2011 and later. So far, not me. But it is in the state constitution, and it IS illegal, and the guv is gonna have egg frying on his chrome dome while he eats a bushel of crow.

I hope the good folks in your state win their lawsuits.

Right now it is stalled. Democrats and Republicans are in agreement over the cuts for everyone. They can't agree on who is responsible for making pension payments in the future -- state government or local governments and universities. the deadline to pass it is midnight tomorrow.

how scary to have a bunch of strangers (who claim to have no money, but can pay for a mating study on lobsters) hold your future in their hands. Will I be able to go on that vacation I always dreamed about? or will I be stuck home clipping coupons and seeing the local zoo? I went thru the same thing when I was retiring. Back and forth back and forth. Even after I retired they wanted to re re re negotiate our contracts. I thought once a contract was negotiated it was done...boy was I wrong! Even this year the governor of the state I worked for is threatening pensions left and right. The new hires can no longer retire after 20 years of hazardous duty, it must be 25 or more. They no longer count over time into your three highest earning years (even tho OT was mandatory) now its your last 5 years being averaged to make what your salary will be. it drops dramatically if you dont allow ALL the hours you were FORCED to work.

I hope they come up with a speedy resolution and its fair and equitable for all. its horrible to be told something for so many years, only to get to the finish line and someone says HAH HA! not fair!

I feel for all of you. You can't change the rules on people when they started with a different set of rules. You can change it for new hires. but not existing contributors or retirees. My company is no longer matching 3%. They wil start on 7/1 matching 1.5% up to 6% of contributions to 401K. It doesn't affect me cause tomorrow is my last day. I've been downsized.

Well the two parties seemed to have agreed not to shift the costs of the pensions to local governments and they have also agreed to the cuts for both current retirees and active employees. It has not passed yet, but it looks like it will be. My official retirement date is tomorrow. I received my last check from the university today and my first pension check tomorrow. It is only 70% of what it is supposed to be. It takes the state retirement system several months to have their figures accurate. Happy retirement to me

it took over a year for my final check calculations to come in and my check to be accurate. the good thing is that they reimburse you the back pay you lost during that year. dont let them over pay you or you have to pay it back in a lump sum. I also got the interest i would have gained on that money. it was frustrating for them to take a full year to calculate what they owed me, but according to them it was a back log of folks retiring that gummed up the works.

I am glad you were able to retire. now you can take better care of yourself with rest, sun, and fun.

The two parties could not reach an agreement last night on who would be responsible for paying the government's share so they did not call the bill for a vote. The governor is going to call a special session devoted solely to pension reform sometime in the summer once both sides have calmed down

the people of Ill should not give up (quiet down) on fighting this in the courts IMHO.

as ann landers would say; "the time goes by anyway". no matter how long it takes in the courts you may have a positive outcome. if you don't fight nothing will happen unless you try.