No matter who occupies the governor’s office in 2019, he will be faced with a $4.6 billion budget deficit, including 7 percent raises for state employees, and increasing costs for unfunded pension and state retirement benefits. At some point, the state of Connecticut’s relationship with its government unions will be ...
The number of retired state employees receiving six figure pensions jumped by at least 30 percent since 2016 and more than 1,000 percent since 2010. According to a report by the Hartford Courant, there are now “nearly 1,400” retirees who received more than $100,000 in pension payments over the course of 2017.
Trumbull First Selectman Tim Herbst and the Hartford Courant have recently called attention to legislators using mileage reimbursement to increase their compensation and pad their pensions. There were 251 working days in 2015. Legislators who received mileage reimbursement claimed anywhere from 1 to 245 trips from their hometown to the capitol. Yankee Institute obtained the mileage and reimbursement figures for all state senator and representatives through a Freedom of Information request.
Criminals getting state pensions. Professors using a one time opportunity to change retirement plans for six years. If Connecticut lawmakers do not muster the strength to make such common-sense changes to the way state pensions are handled, than we may have a long road ahead of us to get Connecticut back on track.
The line item for state employee pensions is one of the fastest-growing items in the state budget. This year, the state will contribute $1.5 billion - almost ten percent of the General Fund - to the state employee pension fund, which still won’t be enough to put a dent in the unfunded liabilities. According to new information released by the Yankee Institute on its website CTSunlight.org, 885 retirees received pensions over $100,000 in 2015 -- including 12 who earned pensions over $200,000 a year.