Prosecutor Eric Smith pension starts at 53?

[mjb3]

I wonder if anyone has knowledge of how his pension was set up so he could recieve it at only 53? My understanding was for all pensions[[teachers, govt employees, corporate, etc) you must wait until age 65 to recieve your benefit. Only exception cops and fireman who sometimes get it at 48,50 but even those I thought were in disability situations only. It does seem like a lot but lawyers in private practice can make >$200K so it may not be that outrageous. But is nothing us private sector working stiffs will ever see... thanks...

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/ne...st/7079524001/

[Bong-Man]

Using Michigan teachers & gov't employees as an example, their pensions are based on 30 years of service. If someone started at 25, they could retire with a pension & health care at 55 under the old MPSERS plan. That plan was eliminated almost 10 years ago. A State sponsored 401k plan is now provided.

Since he worked for Macomb County, Eric Smith may have been eligible for what they called, "the drop plan". This was a retirement plan [[scheme) dreamed up by Mark Hackel & others. It was approved as a supposed means to reduce pension costs. It took some outside actuaries to determine it was a scam on the County that rewarded a very few.

I am a former MI public school employee, and I've been retired since I was 55 with full health care. I also get a non-compounded 3% raise annually on my pension based on the original amount. I started at 19 and left with 36 years of service. I was eligible to leave at 49.

[mjb3]

Thanks Bongman, I knew you could leave early once you had your 30 yrs in, I just thought you had to wait to age 65 to start receiving pension. I know people in military it's 20 and out and they get out at 38 but don't recieve pension til 65. A lot of guys get second job and build second pension - they they have two pension payouts starting at age 65.
I agree the macomb county drop plan sounds fishy - dreamed up by some consultant who gives campaign $ to politicians. Thanks again for the clarification...

[Ray1936]

I retired from the Detroit PD in 1984 after 29 years. Do you really want a 55 year old person chasing the guy who just held you up? Some positions absolutely require a degree of youth.

On the other hand, I'm a freak, being still alive at 85. All my classmates from the Detroit Police Academy are all dead. Class of 50 candidates in 1959. I've traced them all. And, of course, if my wife catches me with my girl friend, I'll soon be dead also.

[jcole]

My dad retired from DPD after 37 yrs at age 60 and collected his pension immediately which was a good thing because back in those days they didn't pay into Social Security at all. He made an error in judgment though and took a standard 3% per year increase instead of COLA because he didn't believe it would ever go above a couple of % per year.

[jcole]

My husband is also a MPSERS and he retired at 54 with full pension. He came along at a time when the schools were trying to get rid of teachers who had been employed a long time and had Masters + so they bought him out a year or two early

...
I am a former MI public school employee, and I've been retired since I was 55 with full health care. I also get a non-compounded 3% raise annually on my pension based on the original amount. I started at 19 and left with 36 years of service. I was eligible to leave at 49.

[Henry Whalley]

My husband is also a MPSERS and he retired at 54 with full pension.

"At about 54, the average age of retirement in China is among the lowest in the world. This is a problem. Since standards were set, life expectancy has soared while the number of working adults—those whose labour, in effect, supports retirees—has begun to shrink. But persuading people that they should work longer is proving hard. In 2008 the government said it was mulling the idea of raising retirement ages, but backed away amid a public outcry."

[jcole]

Don't misunderstand me; he retired from teaching but then worked temp work for about a year until he found a full time job in Grocery in Produce. He worked in that field for another 24 yrs until he retired during Covid at the age of 79. He's substantially older than I and we had two teenagers when he retired the first time. I'm 66 and still working part time.

"At about 54, the average age of retirement in China is among the lowest in the world. This is a problem. Since standards were set, life expectancy has soared while the number of working adults—those whose labour, in effect, supports retirees—has begun to shrink. But persuading people that they should work longer is proving hard. In 2008 the government said it was mulling the idea of raising retirement ages, but backed away amid a public outcry."

[Henry Whalley]

"At about 54, the average age of retirement in China is among the lowest in the world. This is a problem...."

The quote is from an article in the right-leaning Economist magazine. I don't have a problem with retiring at 54. It seems that most Americas work till kingdom come, which is their right I suppose, but it's not my cup of tea.

[Zacha341]

^ I hear that! And why is there an assumption that after you retire you're not busy. You can go on to volunteer for things you like, spend more time with family and work part-time at something you want to do.

[Eber Brock Ward]

Many city and county pension plans are managed by those cities and counties.

For example, Matt Schenk from Wayne County got nearly $100k/year at age 42: https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/...hief-of-staff/

For the longest time, if you were an exec at the County for 8 years, you got the "Amann benefit," which is health care for life: https://www.casemine.com/judgement/u...51411c3d2e/amp. Some folks got eligible for it in their 30s or 40s, if I remember it right.

[Henry Whalley]

For example, Matt Schenk from Wayne County got nearly $100k/year at age 42...

Isn't it true that the fund is teetering on bankruptcy?

[Ray1936]

It just strikes me that those in an uproar over early retirements should have done some thinking in their early years about the future instead of getting ordinary employment and having fun.

That said, that was a true concern of mine after high school. Was planning on a military career, but the DPD grabbed me before that could happen and as a result had a pension check every month since September, 1984.

[401don]

It just strikes me that those in an uproar over early retirements should have done some thinking in their early years about the future instead of getting ordinary employment and having fun.

That said, that was a true concern of mine after high school. Was planning on a military career, but the DPD grabbed me before that could happen and as a result had a pension check every month since September, 1984.

You chose to work for a gov't that went bankrupt but your pension was bailed out out for you. Same happened with autoworkers. Most people aren't so lucky.

[Henry Whalley]

Most people aren't so lucky.

Yeah, IIRC Teamster retirees took a haircut to cover Godfather's bad debts.

[Ray1936]

You chose to work for a gov't that went bankrupt but your pension was bailed out out for you. Same happened with autoworkers. Most people aren't so lucky.

Well, of course I knew in 1959 that Detroit was going bankrupt, so that's why I signed on. NOT!

Detroit's bankruptcy was due to King Kwame who came to be long after I was gone. And the pension wasn't totally bailed out. It's still an iffy situation, in case you didn't know. Fortunately I saved all my graft money.

[Gistok]

^^ Ray1936... just don't be telling everyone where you stash your Krugerrands!!

[jcole]

Also, the bankruptcy screwed with the health insurance my folks received; they had Banker's Life for all the years dad was on DPD and after he died in 75, my mom had it. It paid EVERYTHING. Then in the late 90's/early 2000's, they dropped it and my mom had to move to a PPO. Played hell with her advanced senior years. Also, as I said before, they never paid into SS, so she didn't have Medicare to fall back on. Only after the switch did we find out that she was supposed to be paying into Medicare since my dad died and she didn't know it. Medicare wanted her to pay more per month than what her pension payment was to enroll and catch up. It was a nightmare dealing with them over this. In the end, they grandfathered her and Medicaid paid for her assisted living/nursing home but we had to sign all of her assets over to them.

Well, of course I knew in 1959 that Detroit was going bankrupt, so that's why I signed on. NOT!

Detroit's bankruptcy was due to King Kwame who came to be long after I was gone. And the pension wasn't totally bailed out. It's still an iffy situation, in case you didn't know. Fortunately I saved all my graft money.

[401don]

Well, of course I knew in 1959 that Detroit was going bankrupt, so that's why I signed on. NOT!

Detroit's bankruptcy was due to King Kwame who came to be long after I was gone. And the pension wasn't totally bailed out. It's still an iffy situation, in case you didn't know. Fortunately I saved all my graft money.

The point is you seem to be pleased that you were smart enough to get a gov't pension while blaming those who worked in the private sector for taking "ordinary jobs" where they could not possibly foresee their companies going bankrupt or they weren't able to save enough for retirement.

[Scottathew]

It just strikes me that those in an uproar over early retirements should have done some thinking in their early years about the future instead of getting ordinary employment and having fun.

Policing is hard and dangerous work. I'm grateful that police officers and firefighters have a pension on the other side of their hard work. I'd love to see that be true for many more people than it is today.

My family is lucky, my wife started teaching in the very last year where she was eligible to get "the good retirement". We didn't buy any years and she'll have her 30 years done in her early 50's.

I'm an IT professional. No pension for me! I have to save a large amount of money out of every paycheck so that I can be ready to retire when my wife is. I don't consider my job to be ordinary or ho-hum, but there are very few places that offer any semblance of a pension for IT workers.

Even if a person works a string of full-time "ordinary" retail jobs, I'd like to think our society would have a better system than "retire into relative poverty at age 67, after working for 45+ years".

Ray, thanks for your service to the community. I'm glad that you've got a pension and healthcare benefits after a career of hard work and dedication. I hope we can do that for more people, but with each passing year it becomes less and less.

[canuck]

On the other hand, I'm a freak, being still alive at 85. All my classmates from the Detroit Police Academy are all dead. Class of 50 candidates in 1959. I've traced them all.

You must have been the only one to skip on the Dutch Girl donuts.

[Henry Whalley]

The point is you seem to be pleased that you were smart enough to get a gov't pension while blaming those who worked in the private sector for taking "ordinary jobs" where they could not possibly foresee their companies going bankrupt or they weren't able to save enough for retirement.

The private sector has no monopoly on bankruptcy, mismanagement, and outright theft of pension funds. Governments have those faults, as well.

[Jimaz]

I retired from the Detroit PD in 1984 after 29 years. Do you really want a 55 year old person chasing the guy who just held you up? Some positions absolutely require a degree of youth.

On the other hand, I'm a freak, being still alive at 85. All my classmates from the Detroit Police Academy are all dead. Class of 50 candidates in 1959. I've traced them all. And, of course, if my wife catches me with my girl friend, I'll soon be dead also.

Just for kicks I went on another treasure hunt trying to spot your house in Google Street View.

You have figurines in your yard but they're kind of blurry. Is one of them a pig? Sounds just like your sense of humor. That's funny.

[Ray1936]

Just for kicks I went on another treasure hunt trying to spot your house in Google Street View.

You have figurines in your yard but they're kind of blurry. Is one of them a pig? Sounds just like your sense of humor. That's funny.

Yes, one is a fat little pig that I just gave a fresh coat of spray paint! If anyone else would like to take a look at my home punch in 2592 Solera Sky Drive, Henderson, NV on Google street view.

[Jimaz]

...If anyone else would like to take a look at my home punch in....

And if you want to see Ray waving at the Google car, hop around the area in June 2014. I could find only one photo that showed him.