Updates to faculty layoff plan and other stuff

General Campus News, Updates, Discussion
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Tere North
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vatusay wrote: Fri Jul 07, 2017 9:38 am I really like your idea of the pension tax going directly back to fund the pension. Has this been proposed before?
Yes! Great idea!
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Neckfansince71
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So I just had a short conversation with a GEA rep who worked in my department for a couple of years before I retired. She said to her knowledge, not state taxing a state pension is not addressed in the state constitution although there has been little desire to actually do this by legislators. Seal, you have a federal pension, do you pay federal taxes on that? You know folks, we may not be out of the woods, but surely we are back in the game! ;) jc
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sealhall74
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Neckfansince71 wrote: Fri Jul 07, 2017 1:42 pm So I just had a short conversation with a GEA rep who worked in my department for a couple of years before I retired. She said to her knowledge, not state taxing a state pension is not addressed in the state constitution although there has been little desire to actually do this by legislators. Seal, you have a federal pension, do you pay federal taxes on that? You know folks, we may not be out of the woods, but surely we are back in the game! ;) jc
I pay both federal and VA state taxes on my retirement income. IIRC, Illinois instituted the no tax on pensions law back in 1984. Not that long ago. I believe that would be "Big Jim" Thompson's doing. Time for an undo, at least temporarily, to get out of this mess.
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ST_Lawson
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ST_Lawson wrote: Fri Jul 07, 2017 12:21 pm
rocki wrote: Is retirement still allowed at 55 as long as you have 20 or 25 years in? Maybe those requirements need to be extended out a bit. I know having the baby boomers hitting retirement age has really put a dent in things as there are more retirees than those paying into the system now.
36+ years for maxed out retirement (80%) benefits. You can retire earlier, but you don't get as much. I'm on mobile now, but I'll find you the current chart a little later.


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Here's the plan document: http://www.surs.org/sites/default/files ... de-TRD.pdf
The relevant tables are on pages 23 and 24 of the pdf (pages 17 and 18 as numbered on the pages themselves).

"Maxing out" your pension gets you 80%. You can retire before it's maxed out, but you won't get as much.

The current Tier I employees (those that started before 2011...that includes both myself and my wife) can retire as early as age 55 if that have as little as 8 years of service in, although they'll only get 12.32% of their salary. It's a little confusing on the chart because it says that you'd have to have 36.364 years of service regardless of age to max out at 80%, but then in the footer of the chart, it says that you can retire at any age, without reduction, if you have 30 or more service years...so, I don't really know what's up with that, because if that's the case, why put on the chart a spot for (for example) age 60+ and 33 years of service getting you 72.6%. Any of you guys who do have State of IL pensions have any idea which way is correct?

The Tier II employees (those who started in 2011 or later) can also reach 80%, but they have to have 36.364 years of service and be 67 years old. You can retire as early as age 62, but even if you have 40+ years in, you only get 56% of your salary.

I've run the numbers on my wife and I. Based on the current Tier I setup (assuming the chart is correct rather than the footer), she can retire at age 59 and I'll be able to retire a few months before I turn 66. She's been working at Western ~5.5 years longer than I have though, and she's nearly a year younger than I am. If I retired at the same time she does, I'd be 60 and have 31 years service in, which I could do, but would only get me ~68% of my salary.
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Tere North
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ST_Lawson wrote: Fri Jul 07, 2017 2:36 pm I've run the numbers on my wife and I. Based on the current Tier I setup (assuming the chart is correct rather than the footer), she can retire at age 59 and I'll be able to retire a few months before I turn 66. She's been working at Western ~5.5 years longer than I have though, and she's nearly a year younger than I am. If I retired at the same time she does, I'd be 60 and have 31 years service in, which I could do, but would only get me ~68% of my salary.
Check via the SURS calculator on their website. That's what I used when I was considering retiring and it turned out to be very accurate to what I ended up with.
meganeck
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wiu712 wrote: Fri Jul 07, 2017 12:41 pm In a statement issued today, the Acting President at NIU Lisa Freeman said:

"Even though we are grateful for the clarity and security provided by this latest budget action, it does not alter the fact that we have absorbed a funding shortfall of more than $65 million over the last three years. We must continue the work to enhance the financial stability of NIU by increasing enrollment, becoming more efficient, and aligning our resources with our priorities. There will be some difficult decisions ahead, and I pledge that we will tackle these issues together."
I like her quote, hopefully Dr Thomas has similar thoughts.
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ST_Lawson
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Tere North wrote: Fri Jul 07, 2017 5:56 pm
ST_Lawson wrote: Fri Jul 07, 2017 2:36 pm I've run the numbers on my wife and I. Based on the current Tier I setup (assuming the chart is correct rather than the footer), she can retire at age 59 and I'll be able to retire a few months before I turn 66. She's been working at Western ~5.5 years longer than I have though, and she's nearly a year younger than I am. If I retired at the same time she does, I'd be 60 and have 31 years service in, which I could do, but would only get me ~68% of my salary.
Check via the SURS calculator on their website. That's what I used when I was considering retiring and it turned out to be very accurate to what I ended up with.
Yea, that's what I was using to run the numbers. Looks pretty close to what I had estimated "by hand" using the charts and stuff.
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Neckfansince71
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This article is 2 years old but very applicable to what we have been talking about regarding "pension" reform! ;) jc

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ ... olumn.html
wiu712
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From State Representative Norine Hammond:

Rep. Norine Hammond, R-Macomb, knew going into the vote that she would face angry Republican peers and conservative voters back home. She also weighed the calls by voters in Macomb, where Western Illinois University has seen its funds fall by about $60 million in the past two years. The university has laid off 285 people due to the funding crisis.

Hammond also faced a Democratic opponent last year who accused her of not doing enough to support WIU and other state-funded entities in the district.

"I was sent to Springfield to fix our problems, not to make them worse," Hammond said. "Nobody wants to take hard votes, but families in West-Central Illinois sent me here to get our state back on track."
wiu712
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The budget battle for FY 18 may not be over.

Reports coming out of Springfield are saying that the Governor may refuse to implement the budget that was passed by veto over-ride.
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