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Friday, October 16, 2009

Rehired Retirees Did Not Create Our Financial Mess

By Steve P. Guerra
Placitas resident
      In response to AFSCME Local 477 President Arcy M. Baca's op-ed column titled “Double-Dippers Cost Too Much for State.” I believe the following points Baca makes are either misrepresented or wrong:
       n The return-to-work employee's contribution is picked up 100 percent by the state.
       When I returned to work after being retired for approximately two years, I was required to pay the contribution after reaching $25,000. After about a year of employment I was not required to make the contribution and the state picked up the contribution. I believe this change was made since the rehired employee who was making contributions to PERA would not be receiving a second retirement. The amount paid by the employer to PERA is paying for future retirees.
       I also feel that the employer is paying for the experience and dedication of a tried and proven government employee. By filling the rehired positions with new employees (if they could be found) the cost savings for the state's contribution would only be approximately $4.4 million.
       n When double dippers are re-instated they are given the maximum amount of leave they left with, which amounts to 20 days paid vacation per year.
       This is not true. When I began working for the state in 2005, I started with 0 hours of annual leave just like any other new employee. If rehired retired employees are getting 20 days of leave when they begin their second career, then some authority needs to check into that situation.
       The majority of rehired government employees followed the rules of the rehire program. Most of the rehired employees I personally know started back at the bottom in their second careers and were not rehired into positions from which they retired. Additionally, most are not receiving an $80,000 retirement.
       Those who did not follow the guidelines should be dealt with on an individual basis. Many, if not most, of the rehires are filling positions that are difficult to fill (police officers, forensic scientists, corrections officers).
       Rehired retired government employees did not create the economic problems this state is facing. Virtually every other state in the country is facing similar budget deficits. Would this really be an issue if the country's economy wasn't in dire straits?
       If the Legislature chooses to end the program, then stop rehiring retired government employees. Do not make the change in the law retroactive and punish the employees currently in the program. Like myself, I'm sure these employees have made plans for the future that include working awhile longer before really calling it quits. We are not going to be here for another 20 years.
       Stop making rehired retired employees, or like the media and some politicians like to call them “double dippers,” the scapegoat for the state of New Mexico's economic troubles.
       

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