15.1% hell why not 20%??

[Unregistered]

Our pension is world famous. Nothing good is cheap.

[Unregistered]

I don’t know where to begin, there is that much misinformation in your thread. 1. Only the first 5% on investment returns goes into the main pension fund, after 5% it goes into the COLA account until it reaches 10%, returns from 10% to 11% (1% total) are used to pay the 13th check, anything after 11% then continues into the COLA account. 2. 13th checks are not automatically paid when the investment returns exceed 10%, any losses in the prior year have to be made up to guarantee the main fund maintains the required 5% per annum. 13th checks have not been paid on occasion even when the 10% goal has been exceeded. The actuary also has to certify the fund is actuarial sound before the 13th check can be paid.
3. Your contributions and the City’s don’t come close to covering even the amount paid out in pension payments every year, investment returns allow for continued growth. Your contributions are based on whole list of things, the 13th check playing no role. 4. If you really want a culprit behind increased pension contributions for the active personnel look no further than the change instituted in 2003.
Prior to those changes in October of that year the yearly multiplier was 2.5 and the most you could draw was 65% of your top 3 of your last 10 years with no drop plan. It went from that to 3.15% per year with the ability to draw up to 100% of your top salary, and allowed a drop plan for up to 5 years. No one that had retired prior to that date in 2003 got those benefits, anyone still on got them retroactive from their starting date.
Plenty of retirees thought that unfair, in retrospect they were wrong, it would have cost the actives far too much to include all retirees retroactively, but such changes did necessarily brought a cost in increased pension contributions for both the actives and the city. Most rational people think it was a great deal for those that benefited from it, especially considering the fact that they pay no social security, but to each their own opinion.
5. Finally everyone who is retired (including drop) receives the 13th in the the years it is paid (and there are many years when it hasn’t been paid), and because of its lack of impact that is likely to continue, even for you.