Now I understand why the Oregon PERS has financial problems

[TexasTowelie]

Oregon’s updated public pension roll has a new top beneficiary: Joe Robertson, the former president of Oregon Health & Science University.

Robertson, who retired last September, will receive a starting annual state pension of $913,335, or more than $76,000 a month. That comfortably supplants both his former OHSU colleague, neurosurgeon Johnny Delashaw and former University of Oregon football coach Mike Bellotti, who currently receive $684,944 and $558,690, respectively, from the state’s Public Employees Retirement System.

But there’s a new name with a strong local connection among the top 10 PERS beneficiaries: Mary Spilde, the longtime leader of Lane Community College who retired last May.

Spilde is receiving an annual pension of $309,437, the new database shows, after a 16-year run as LCC president and 36½ years in Oregon public higher education.

Read more: http://registerguard.com/rg/news/local/36645022-75/ex-lcc-president-joins-pers-elite.html.csp

I have to wonder if the pension system is too generous when the former employees take home more after retirement than they earned while working.

[Shrike47]

1. No, you dont understand yet. Its really complicated.

The bottom line is, local and state governments haven’t adequately funded a pension system they set up in lieu of raises during heavy inflation back in the 80’s. Most PERS recipients get far less than they did while working. The publicity about the big ticket recipients is, basically, part of the current attack on public employees in Oregon.

[TexasTowelie]

3. I'm aware of that

and I was a public employee myself so I do sympathize with and advocate for the rank-and-file employees whose pensions are inadequate after retirement. However, as the article mentioned these aren't isolated cases and there are pensioners that are receiving six figure incomes. I'm not saying that these people weren't hard workers, but there is going to be a perception problem in the public when they see the amounts of some of those pensions.

[classof56]

5. As a PERS retiree, I am well aware of the obsession with PERS employees

A lot of people hated me when I worked for a well-regarded state agency, implementing the laws, administrative rules, etc., dictated by the legislature. Believe me, I dropped a significant number of dollars in the local economy all those years, plus of course ponying up my share of my retirement account, health insurance premiums, not to mention local taxes to fund schools, etc. Did not resent any of that, but did resent the ongoing slings and arrows from those who seemed to totally devalue my work. Remember a few years ago, when the Oregonian, Statesman Journal, Bend Bulletin, and a bunch of other news media outlets sued and won the right to publish retirees' incomes? I do, and it was so infuriating I launched a letter writing campaign objecting to what I considered to be an egregious intrusion of my privacy. Alas, to no avail. While I greatly appreciate the health care benefits afforded by my agreement with PERS, I'm pretty sure those who hold me in such disregard have no clue as to the major hit I take to my paltry paychecks as my share of the premiums. And then there are those continued dollars I contribute to the economy by shopping local businesses.

Okay, I'll stop now. Just ran across this thread and your post, and somehow felt compelled to engage in my rant, prompted by my simmering anger at those who would deny me the benefits I paid into during my career with the state, and which I figure I've earned.

Okay, end of rant. Thanks for the post.

As I often do here, I'll close by quoting our state motto:

OREGON: She flies with her own wings.

[calimary]

2. That's ridiculous!

The FOOTBALL COACH gets more than half a mill per year??? WTF?????

[TexasTowelie]

4. I'd choose retirement too:

Former UO landscape architecture professor Ron Lovinger has a pension of $238,567, 200 percent of his final salary.