City of Danville retirees are back in front of the city council asking for cost-of-living adjustments and/or bonuses. But when you look at how much some of the retirees make on a guaranteed basis, your eyes may open quite widely. It’s time for a NumbersCentral…
The City of Danville has its own retirement system where employees get a set benefit for life based on years and service and their pay rate.
I asked the city for a list of all retirees and how much they received from the City’s pension fund. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.
Wow.
Are the pension payments in addition to Social Security benefits?
Yes. These numbers are just the amount from the retiree pension fund.
It should also be noted that these are just the employees who are on the city’s dime. You did a lot better job than the city did of making that point, but the reminder is still a good one to make. Long term employees of the Sheriff, Commonwealth Attorney, Clerk of the Circuit Court, Commissioner of the Revenue, and Treasurer are apparently not on this list based on all of the folks I know to check for. They must have pensions paid through VRS. This however does appear to include at least some police officers even though they should be under VaLORS. I didn’t know exactly how all of that would work, so having the data to look over was interesting.
I’m working on that information as well.
On the city retirees, do the payments continue to a spouse after the death of the retiree–or do they terminate upon the death of the retiree?
I asked about that. I was told that spousal survival benefits are in the plan, and that shows in the numbers.
Buddy it is interesting that this is where you are getting your info. Aren’t you on council?
There are lots of “Buddy” ‘s in the area. And this Buddy knows where to go for the best stuff. 😀
For some reason, police and fire had the option of not contributing to social security. I post this in response to one of the questions above. I never knew anyone had that option. Wish Bruce would provide insight.
I’m glad you asked that question! Here’s what I found on that…
What is not included here is how much they have to pay for medical insurance through the City if they are below Social Security retirement age or do not qualify for social security and wish to be insured. Do you have access to those numbers?
Those hired after 1986 did not have the option, we were told we were not under social security and a different multiplier was used to determine the benefit. That is why the public safety employees retirement benefits should be higher. The choice to pay into Social Security has not been an option and the decision was made before the overwhelming majority of current public safety personnel were employed by the city. Unless they have enough quarters (usually reached by working a second job) a Public Safety Employee is not eligible for social security. City of Danville Police Department is not under VaLORS as Mr. Smallwood says they should be. They are not eligible for any of the benefits under VaLORS or Social Security. So the amounts shown are what this retiree must live off unless they have invested extremely wisely over the years. Since the last study showed that city employees were paid app. 20% less than other comparable cities take into account a lifetime of reduced earnings. Many of the retirees listed served the city for more than thirty years and some gave more than forty to public service. These totals do not reflect the astronomical cost of city insurance for retirees, but thats another issue entirely.
So? Do you want to renegotiate after they filled their part of the bargin? The city made those deals years ago. If they look bad to some now, that’s sad. Simply offer less in the future, and you’ll get less. I believe Neil Morris should get every dime. Not just anyone can do that job for over 30 years. But, I suppose some would rather take that money and build Danville’s youth” a “free” pool.
Not one damned bit. The city can’t legally touch this money, nor should they.
That’s what they thought in Detroit…..can you tell us how this retirement fund is different?
Sure. It’s actually close to 100% funded, unlike lots of other ones.
It could be interesting to know the name of the outfit that manages the fund. Any idea?
If Morris was a Democrat I would ask him for a donation.
[…] increases or annual bonuses. They get a certain amount per month for the rest of their lives. I’ve published a complete list of those payouts for all city retirees. As you can see, that list is quite top-heavy with 170 people pulling in over $2,000 per month. […]