That is not true.
The retiree can purchase a "Dependent Health Plan". The premium for that plan would be deducted from their retirement check.
So as the employer, the university pays nothing toward pension amounts! Why not equal to the employee like it is for social security?wiu712 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 16, 2018 8:57 amEmployee contributions to SURS are equal to 8% of your gross earnings, including earnings for overtime and summer sessions.
Full-time community college employees (except City Colleges of Chicago) pay an additional 0.5% of earnings to fund a health insurance plan devised for community college retirees.
If you began working for a SURS-covered employer on or after April 1, 1986, your employer is required to deduct contributions for Medicare from your gross earnings. Currently, this contribution equals 1.45% of gross earnings.
Traditional and Portable Plans:
The state contribution is a varying amount that is actuarially determined each year. The Illinois pension code requires the state to contribute an amount each year necessary for the System to become funded at 90% of assets to liabilities by the end of the state fiscal year 2045.
Self-Managed plan (SMP)
The state contributions toward SMP equal 7.6% of earnings. Approximately 7.3% of those earnings will go directly to the member's individual SMP account. The remainder is used to provide you with the eligibility for disability benefits.
No employer contributions? That is surprising. But when you have 667 government pension funds in the state, I guess anything is possible. We should start a petition to rename SURS as the Leslie Heffez Pension Fund. That prof from UIC made out like a bandit, retiring at age 55 for a comfy annual pension sum of $564,298, I think he is still up there in 'burbs pulling teeth as I write this. And he pays no state income tax that pension money. What a mess!Tere North wrote: ↑Fri Feb 16, 2018 2:49 pmSo as the employer, the university pays nothing toward pension amounts! Why not equal to the employee like it is for social security?wiu712 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 16, 2018 8:57 amEmployee contributions to SURS are equal to 8% of your gross earnings, including earnings for overtime and summer sessions.
Full-time community college employees (except City Colleges of Chicago) pay an additional 0.5% of earnings to fund a health insurance plan devised for community college retirees.
If you began working for a SURS-covered employer on or after April 1, 1986, your employer is required to deduct contributions for Medicare from your gross earnings. Currently, this contribution equals 1.45% of gross earnings.
Traditional and Portable Plans:
The state contribution is a varying amount that is actuarially determined each year. The Illinois pension code requires the state to contribute an amount each year necessary for the System to become funded at 90% of assets to liabilities by the end of the state fiscal year 2045.
Self-Managed plan (SMP)
The state contributions toward SMP equal 7.6% of earnings. Approximately 7.3% of those earnings will go directly to the member's individual SMP account. The remainder is used to provide you with the eligibility for disability benefits.
Well, technically the employer is the state and the state does contribute.Tere North wrote: ↑Fri Feb 16, 2018 2:49 pmSo as the employer, the university pays nothing toward pension amounts! Why not equal to the employee like it is for social security?wiu712 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 16, 2018 8:57 amEmployee contributions to SURS are equal to 8% of your gross earnings, including earnings for overtime and summer sessions.
Full-time community college employees (except City Colleges of Chicago) pay an additional 0.5% of earnings to fund a health insurance plan devised for community college retirees.
If you began working for a SURS-covered employer on or after April 1, 1986, your employer is required to deduct contributions for Medicare from your gross earnings. Currently, this contribution equals 1.45% of gross earnings.
Traditional and Portable Plans:
The state contribution is a varying amount that is actuarially determined each year. The Illinois pension code requires the state to contribute an amount each year necessary for the System to become funded at 90% of assets to liabilities by the end of the state fiscal year 2045.
Self-Managed plan (SMP)
The state contributions toward SMP equal 7.6% of earnings. Approximately 7.3% of those earnings will go directly to the member's individual SMP account. The remainder is used to provide you with the eligibility for disability benefits.
If a university makes a contribution to the employees retirement fund, it becomes an incentive to attract quality personnel. It is a big bargaining factor at the local school district level where about 2/3 of the Illinois school districts contribute something to the teacher's retirement fund. Do the universities have the money to do it? Probably only one in the state could do it right now.ST_Lawson wrote: ↑Fri Feb 16, 2018 4:32 pmhTere North wrote: ↑Fri Feb 16, 2018 2:49 pmSo as the employer, the university pays nothing toward pension amounts! Why not equal to the employee like it is for social security?wiu712 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 16, 2018 8:57 am
Employee contributions to SURS are equal to 8% of your gross earnings, including earnings for overtime and summer sessions.
Full-time community college employees (except City Colleges of Chicago) pay an additional 0.5% of earnings to fund a health insurance plan devised for community college retirees.
If you began working for a SURS-covered employer on or after April 1, 1986, your employer is required to deduct contributions for Medicare from your gross earnings. Currently, this contribution equals 1.45% of gross earnings.
Traditional and Portable Plans:
The state contribution is a varying amount that is actuarially determined each year. The Illinois pension code requires the state to contribute an amount each year necessary for the System to become funded at 90% of assets to liabilities by the end of the state fiscal year 2045.
Self-Managed plan (SMP)
The state contributions toward SMP equal 7.6% of earnings. Approximately 7.3% of those earnings will go directly to the member's individual SMP account. The remainder is used to provide you with the eligibility for disability benefits.
Well, technically the employer is the state and the state does contribute.
I guess the state could pass that money along to the universities and then have them make the contributions to the pensions, but it's all coming from the same place.
As for the crazy high pensions you hear about. I don't know that there's much they can do constitutionally about them now, but for future pensions, I have no problem with them setting a cap on all future ones...so, like the max that a person can earn is $100k or $120k or something a year (didn't someone say there's a cap like that on social security). I doubt I'll ever get to the point where I'm earning six-figures, but if I ever do, I don't have a problem with getting "only" $100k back per year.
The employer is the State of Illinois. The State is suppose to be contributing to the pension system as noted above. But very many years, the State has failed to fully fund their obligation. And several times the State has declared a "Pension Holiday" meaning that they contributed $0 for that year.Tere North wrote: ↑Fri Feb 16, 2018 2:49 pmSo as the employer, the university pays nothing toward pension amounts!
The State of Illinois funds most of the employer portion of the Illinois Teachers Retirement System (TRS). TRS is the retirement system for all public K-12 teachers except those in the Chicago Public Schools which has their own pension system.sealhall74 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 16, 2018 5:04 pmIt is a big bargaining factor at the local school district level where about 2/3 of the Illinois school districts contribute something to the teacher's retirement fund.
I disagree. Western is the employer, they should be matching the employee contribution. My ID card never said "State of Illinois." Western determines the hiring salary, not the State. Saying the state should pay means Western gets to determine how much the State pays by determining the salary of the employee.wiu712 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 16, 2018 6:14 pmThe employer is the State of Illinois. The State is suppose to be contributing to the pension system as noted above. But very many years, the State has failed to fully fund their obligation. And several times the State has declared a "Pension Holiday" meaning that they contributed $0 for that year.Tere North wrote: ↑Fri Feb 16, 2018 2:49 pmSo as the employer, the university pays nothing toward pension amounts!
sealhall74 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 16, 2018 5:04 pmIt is a big bargaining factor at the local school district level where about 2/3 of the Illinois school districts contribute something to the teacher's retirement fund.
The State of Illinois funds most of the employer portion of the Illinois Teachers Retirement System (TRS). TRS is the retirement system for all public K-12 teachers except those in the Chicago Public Schools which has their own pension system.
Many school districts in the state have been paying some or all of the employee's contribution to TRS. Teachers contribute 9.4% of their salary to TRS.
The State of Illinois is the employer. The work location in this case is at Western Illinois University.Tere North wrote: ↑Sat Feb 17, 2018 12:03 amI disagree. Western is the employer, they should be matching the employee contribution.
I have to agree with Tere on this one. If you are determining the salary of an employee, you are the employer.wiu712 wrote: ↑Sat Feb 17, 2018 8:55 amThe State of Illinois is the employer. The work location in this case is at Western Illinois University.Tere North wrote: ↑Sat Feb 17, 2018 12:03 amI disagree. Western is the employer, they should be matching the employee contribution.