Federal pension jealousy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are fed pensions a set amount for life? Or a 401k fund?

Huh? Pensions by definition are defined benefit plans. 401ks are defined contribution plans. Federal retirement is a three legged stool: pension + TSP (401k-like defined contribution plan) + social security.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The federal workers I know make as much or more than private workers and they have a pension and health care for life. Yes, I'm jealous. I wish I had been smart enough to get a federal job at a young age and stay with it. I didn't know.

You must not know very many current federal workers. The really nice pension was phased out in the 90s, and now there is portion that is a pension, combined with regular savings. Is it better than many private companies? Yes, but someone in my role in private industry would make about double my federal salary in a STEM field.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The people who tend to be most jealous of a government pension are people who under-saved while making more money than government employees, and then are surprised when they hit mid 40s to discover they are actually financially "behind" especially regarding retirement. People who saved/planned appropriately are not envious of a pension, especially if they took advantage of private sector perks like employer matches, bonuses that could be dumped straight into investment vehicles, and other advantages.

I work in the private sector and my DH is a fed. We are mid-40s and are planning an early semi-retirement when DH qualifies for his pension in our early 50s. The plan is partially based on the pension, yes, but also capitalizing on home equity we have been diligently building up for 15 years, and the flexibility of my work, which recently moved to a solo call insulting business after years of corporate work (and building up a big nest egg via savings, while also dealing with two big layoffs during down markets).

Sometimes people will make some comment about how it "must be nice" to be able to retire early thanks to the pension, and I ignore it because it's misplaced. There are lots of ways for a professional to secure early retirement or financial security, and a government pension is just one that doesn't require much planning or discipline. But it's not really any better than just socking away money and planning. If you are mad about it, you could have gotten a government job. Or you could have saved better. But you have no one but yourself to blame.

This sounds like a great business. So do people pay you to call and insult them as motivation to improve, or to call and insult others they don't like? How much do they pay you for this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are fed pensions a set amount for life? Or a 401k fund?

I am a full time Federal employee who will get no pension.

People tend not to believe me, but I am on the AD (rather than GS or SES ) pay scale…and that is how it was set up at my agency.

So even as a Fed, I am jealous of people with access to a pension, TSP, etc.

Who's on the AD pay scale?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a relative who’s a teacher in New York State. After 35 years, they can retire at 80% of their salary.

Yes, I’m envious.

- A fed

The question was about whether people are jealous of your pension, not whether you are jealous of others’.

Except their salary sucks. 80% isn’t a dollar amount.

[Anonymous]

No, never encountered jealousy, because most similar roles in private industry make so much more.

[Anonymous]

No, but I am sometimes thanked for my past service, which is nice but a bit embarassing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are fed pensions a set amount for life? Or a 401k fund?

I am a full time Federal employee who will get no pension.

People tend not to believe me, but I am on the AD (rather than GS or SES ) pay scale…and that is how it was set up at my agency.

So even as a Fed, I am jealous of people with access to a pension, TSP, etc.

Who's on the AD pay scale?

I guess some DOJ attorneys (I looked it up).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a relative who’s a teacher in New York State. After 35 years, they can retire at 80% of their salary.

Yes, I’m envious.

- A fed

The question was about whether people are jealous of your pension, not whether you are jealous of others’.

Except their salary sucks. 80% isn’t a dollar amount.

PP here. My relative makes almost $150k/yr. They are in a LI school district.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How much is a federal pension? Ballpark

That’s a difficult one to answer because you have the old pension (CSRS) and the newer one (FERS). It’s also based on years of service and high 3 salary. Also, there are certain positions (law enforcement) where you are able to retire early and start collecting immediately and get salary enhancements (LEAP) built into salaries/pensions. For example, I was in the old system, employed as a federal agent, had 30 years of service at age 50 (when I retired) and collect 72% of my high 3 salary plus COLA’s. My pension is about $130k.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How much is a federal pension? Ballpark

That’s a difficult one to answer because you have the old pension (CSRS) and the newer one (FERS). It’s also based on years of service and high 3 salary. Also, there are certain positions (law enforcement) where you are able to retire early and start collecting immediately and get salary enhancements (LEAP) built into salaries/pensions. For example, I was in the old system, employed as a federal agent, had 30 years of service at age 50 (when I retired) and collect 72% of my high 3 salary plus COLA’s. My pension is about $130k.

But you don’t get social security under old system..just the pension..correct?

[Anonymous]

Present value of some of those pensions is well over 1m. That’s 1m+ you don’t have to save plus the exceptional health care. Also can have additional 1.5m in thrift.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, never encountered jealousy, because most similar roles in private industry make so much more.

Maybe 20 years ago that was true. Now many are overpaid, plus it's hard to fire them. Good enough for Government work doesn't cut it in the real world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly for me, someone mid 50s who has been laid off twice, my jealousy of government employees is all about the stability and relative lack of worry about job security. Also, those jobs seem to value longer careers and experience more than private sector ones.

I'm a federal employee and saw people being fired, so there's no job security in the government.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly for me, someone mid 50s who has been laid off twice, my jealousy of government employees is all about the stability and relative lack of worry about job security. Also, those jobs seem to value longer careers and experience more than private sector ones.

I'm a federal employee and saw people being fired, so there's no job security in the government. Both fired employees were long in the government ( 10 years+).