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Cincinnati
Enquirer...
Enquirer
Exclusive: Double-dippers
swamp Hamilton County
Rush of retirements overruns pension
fund
Aug. 14, 2011
County
officials say most of the
retirees, including the double dippers, are retiring early because they
fear
state lawmakers are poised to cut their pension benefits in a
cost-saving move.
The
rush to retire caught county
officials off guard and recently forced them to tap into the general
fund to
cover the lump sum payouts each retiree receives for accumulated
vacation and
sick time.
Those
payouts so far total about
$600,000 for the double dippers and $700,000 for the retirees who did
not
return to their jobs.
The
unexpected cost of the payouts
couldn’t come at a worse time for the county, which is in the midst of
a
financial crunch that has included three straight years of budget and
staff
cuts. State officials say they’ve seen the rise in retirements in
governments
around Ohio.
The
retirements also have reignited a
debate over double dipping, which some defend as good public policy and
others
criticize as an unnecessary drain on taxpayers.
“The
fact of the matter is the general
fund can’t afford the practice,” said County Commissioner Todd Portune.
“I
think, as a general rule, you are either retired or not.”
But
under Ohio law, that’s not the
rule.
The
retirees are entitled to pensions
paid by the state retirement system and to the lump sum payments paid
by the
county. And if a county department head approves their return, the
retirees can
come back to work and collect a salary as well as a pension.
The
amount of individual pensions is
not disclosed, but an employee with 30 years on the job typically
collects
about 65 percent of his salary.
‘I
have a family to support’
Hamilton
County records show that at
least 12 employees have returned to work after retiring so far this
year, with
most coming back to the same jobs.
Three
of Hamilton County’s top
officials - the deputy sheriff, deputy auditor and deputy engineer -
are among
those who retired this summer.
Several
of them said they made the
move now because of worries about future changes to their pension
benefits.
Read
the rest of the story at the
Cincinnati Enquirer
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