Prosecutor Eric Smith pension starts at 53?

[wolverine]

Reading the title doesn’t surprise me. I’m not sure what Michigans public employee pension tier structure is, but in Illinois, people could retire on a full pension in their early 50’s if they get thirty full years of service. That’s 80% of the last 5 years of salary for any employee hired before the year 2011. Anyone after 2011 may not retire on a full pension until 67. That’s why this cities and the state are struggling and it will take decades to right the ship before the pension fund is solvent again. If city and state government were burdened by only “normal pension costs”. Chicago and Illinois would enjoy billions in surplus and could probably afford serious tax cuts while still offering competitive compensation and still meet infrastructure and service needs. Problem is our state constitution allows zero changes other than more benefits rather some other alternative. That’s much of the predicament Detroit was in, but bankruptcy was their exit option