Today’s News Journal takes a look at the state pension obligations and how it’s impacting the state budget. The news is not good:
According to Ann Visalli, director of the Office of Management and Budget, 16 percent of the state’s work force is eligible to retire today. “We have an aging work force,” she said.
Markell’s budget calls for $3.2 million to be pared from employee health and pension costs, a proposal he said will save at least $100 million over five years. However, he did not detail how those savings would be realized.
I think we’re going to have to take a hard look at the proposals that will come out regarding pensions. Despite rumors to the contrary, the pensions are good but not luxurious. The NJ spells it out:
Some pensioners receive less than $600 per month in benefits, while almost 5,000 receive benefits of less than $1,000 a month, Hassman said.
Even those who worked 30 years receive an average of just $23,000 a year, he said.
They haven’t seen an increase in their pensions for more than 5 years. The other places where the governor plans to cut is Medicaid and assistance to the indigent:
Markell also wants to cut Medicaid costs, which are consuming an ever-increasing portion of the budget, and eliminate $3 million in cash assistance for adults who are unemployable, destitute and often homeless.
Again, we haven’t seen the Medicaid proposals yet but my nose is twitching saying we’ll probably raise eligibility requirements, meaning people will lose their coverage. The rising cost of health care is taking a huge bit out of our economy.