"It's my cotton-picking money"

[30ashopper]

TALLAHASSEE ? This year some of Florida's public officials are giving a whole new meaning to the phrase "home for the holidays.''

It's a new crop of double dippers, taking advantage of a loophole in state law that allows them to "retire'' by taking 30 days off and return to work in their old jobs with a salary and a pension. Many also collect a lump-sum "retirement'' payment that can reach hundreds of thousands of dollars.

At least 25 of those spending December at home were re-elected in November ? sheriffs, property appraisers, court clerks and tax collectors, six circuit judges and one state attorney.

None announced their "retirement'' plans before voters cast their ballots, and most have not made any public announcement of the resignation letters they have written to Gov. Charlie Crist.

Earlier this year when the St. Petersburg Times began looking at double- and even triple-dippers, the state retirement system had about 8,000 members collecting paychecks and pensions at the same time. By June that number had risen to 9,397, and it's still growing.

The double-dippers include at least 220 elected officials, an increase of about 40 since last year. An additional 175 are in high-paid senior management positions, up from 146 last year.

The remaining 9,022 are regular employees who work for state or local government. Their salaries are substantially lower.

The whole St Pete Times article is here -

http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/article950391.ece

 

[AAbsolute]

The whole St Pete Times article is here -

http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/article950391.ece

First, how the heck to you keep track of all these relevant current events?


That's awesome for those who do it. It must feel like printing money. Sucks for us.

 

[TooFarTampa]

The whole St Pete Times article is here -

http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/article950391.ece

I am always mortified when someone beats me to posting articles from my own hometown paper. :roll:

I love me some Lucy Morgan.

 

[Matt J]

This has also worked for many state employees who spent years underpaid. A friend of the family spent 33 years working for the state at a rediculously underpaid salary. He never took a sick day the entire time and got 1/3 of his accrued sick time paid out when he retired. He then took another job with the state making roughly the same amount of money. However he is still working.

Everybody gets all bent out of shape over this loophole in the state system, but no one seems to mention it when someone who's spent 20 years in the military retires and then takes a civilian job doing the thing is taking a pension and, in most cases making more money.

Is it really a scam or loophole or is it just smart career planning? I worked for a guy at FSU that had retired from the military was pulling a nice pension and wanted to work. He worked 20 years at FSU and is pulling two pensions now. Generally speaking pensions are paid during your work years and the money is set aside (at least the state is) and paid out during retirement.

 

[scooterbug44]

I don't think people are upset about the pension + job as much as they are that people who were just elected a month ago have now resigned to cash in on pensions.

That isn't someone w/ a work ethic being savvy and having 2 careers w/ pensions, it's people working the system.

 

[ShallowsNole]

Everybody gets all bent out of shape over this loophole in the state system, but no one seems to mention it when someone who's spent 20 years in the military retires and then takes a civilian job doing the thing is taking a pension and, in most cases making more money.

Exactly....

 

[30ashopper]

First, how the heck to you keep track of all these relevant current events?

Just found it on some guys blog. I'm a blog addict. I should probably try to get out more.

 

[Matt J]

Just found it on some guys blog. I'm a blog addict. I should probably try to get out more.

Voila a New Year's resolution.

 

[Andy A]

This has also worked for many state employees who spent years underpaid. A friend of the family spent 33 years working for the state at a ridiculously underpaid salary. He never took a sick day the entire time and got 1/3 of his accrued sick time paid out when he retired. He then took another job with the state making roughly the same amount of money. However he is still working.

Everybody gets all bent out of shape over this loophole in the state system, but no one seems to mention it when someone who's spent 20 years in the military retires and then takes a civilian job doing the thing is taking a pension and, in most cases making more money.

Is it really a scam or loophole or is it just smart career planning? I worked for a guy at FSU that had retired from the military was pulling a nice pension and wanted to work. He worked 20 years at FSU and is pulling two pensions now. Generally speaking pensions are paid during your work years and the money is set aside (at least the state is) and paid out during retirement.

Hopefully, it is smart career planning. I put 21 years into the military and got out because I knew I was going back to Viet Nam for a third tour. It wasn't that I was afraid to go back, it was that it was obvious to all we were not trying to win the conflict. Anyway, 21 year pensions are not enough to live on so you plan accordingly. I went to work for Prudential Insurance but after a year took a pay cut to go to work for the State of Oklahoma simply because of the retirement benefits. It worked out well and my situation is similar to the gentleman SWGB refers to from FSU. The case where you can retire, draw retirement, come back to work and still draw retirement from the same entity is different and should not be allowed, IMO. You can't retire from the state of Oklahoma, go back to work for the state and still draw retirement. To allow this so that you receive retirement and a working wage as well from Florida makes no fiscal common sense to me.

 

[Bob Wells]

AndyA
Those politicians in Tally are the ones really protecting this system, this is not the first time this issue has been brought to the forfront at the State level. I think last year it was raised and the reasoning for leaving as it was because of the people that would have to be trained to take over these positions and they felt it would have hurt the State in giving up these valuable employees. Just so you are aware, believe Dr. Richbourg from NWF College is one of those gettingg to do this.