Recent comments in /f/Pennsylvania

ktxhopem3276 t1_ja3i42e wrote

Reply to comment by ScienceWasLove in Pennsylvania Makes Progress Toward Public Employee Pension Sustainability by greenhousecrtv

Does pa require a masters degree after five years of teaching like ny does? it seems like it drivers up the cost of being a teacher and burns people out

I used the 2011 law numbers. the 2017 law makes it around $45k for 35 years of service at age 62. Full retirement age of 67 would get about $55k. And you get a 401k ontop of that with 2% a year match from the state. That’s still not “half” of what they used to get and far from a shitty pension.

> That would equate to a replacement of pre-retirement income of about 55 percent to 57 percent. Coupled with Social Security, that would get our worker to about 90 percent.

https://www.pennlive.com/politics/2017/06/pa_pension_reform_bill_what_yo.html

https://www.psers.pa.gov/Leaving-Employment/Pages/Retiring.aspx

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Sennva t1_ja3h6j3 wrote

Reply to comment by Shad0wSmurf in Nuke Power Plant Safety and Suggestions for Good Places to Relocate by [deleted]

Interesting point. Would most Amish agree to take a Covid test or visit a modern doctor if they were sick though?

My impression was they prefer to rely on prayer and home remedies over modern medicine. If so, its unlikely all their cases got reported.

I'm a bit skeptical, but maybe there's something to it. The Amish are a rather insular community. I wouldn't be surprised if they had differences in immune system from the average American because of their tendency to marry inside their community, keep livestock, and rely less on modern healthcare.

Studies have shown there are immune system related drawbacks to living in a largely sterile environment without frequent exposure to animals. Higher risk of allergies for example. There are other coronaviruses which pre-date Covid too. Maybe that lifestyle is just more likely to lead to similar exposures and natural immunity.

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thenewtbaron t1_ja3dzpd wrote

Reply to comment by CatOfTheDecade in Pennsylvania Makes Progress Toward Public Employee Pension Sustainability by greenhousecrtv

Ridge started it, Rendell continued it.

The shitty part, is that if they paid in like a normal company 401k, you know, matching up to a certain point.... The pension system would be fine. You have to invest even in the crappy market because eventually it won't be crappy. And that thing you bought forn50$ now costs 500$.

Even matching half up to the rate the pa employees put in retirement would be 3% and the state didn't even pay that in for like 29 year

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ScienceWasLove t1_ja3drx7 wrote

Reply to comment by ktxhopem3276 in Pennsylvania Makes Progress Toward Public Employee Pension Sustainability by greenhousecrtv

Where are you getting those numbers, and are you sure you are referring to the pension formula for new teachers?

That being said, I teach in Central PA and our max salary is $88k - after 15 years.

An 11 year schedule is abnormal and shorter than most. Probably because they have a problem retaining teachers.

I do agree that most PA starting salaries are reasonable for their areas (maybe low for a 4 year degree and a MS in 5 years) but there are some really low starting salaries in very rural parts of PA.

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ktxhopem3276 t1_ja3d6el wrote

Reply to comment by [deleted] in Pennsylvania Makes Progress Toward Public Employee Pension Sustainability by greenhousecrtv

> Teachers have an unusual role in our society. We collapse without them. They’re vital. If “fuck teachers” wins, we’ll be fucking more than the teachers.

every occupation thinks society will collapse without them. But mainly the teachers and police unions use this argument the most. Society would collapse with firefighters garbage men, grocery store employees, farmers, doctors, plumbers, electricians, mechanics, custodians….the list is endless. Teachers take advantage of the fact that they work directly with children but teachers would be nowhere without all these other workers making their job possible. Teachers get sympathy from caring and more liberal people with this talking point but it also pisses off half the electorate. Pa spends the 11th most on teachers in the country but it just seems worse because most of the ten they spend more are our neighbors like ny nj and Md.

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ktxhopem3276 t1_ja3biwx wrote

Reply to comment by CatOfTheDecade in Pennsylvania Makes Progress Toward Public Employee Pension Sustainability by greenhousecrtv

It’s complicated. In 2001, Ridge increased pensions on his way out the door. He created the “pension kings” category. Rendell didn’t get the legislature to fund those pension kings so we went from a surplus to a deficit under his tenure. On his way out the door he cut pensions in 2011. Wolf cut pensions again in 2017.

https://www.pennlive.com/politics/2017/06/pa_pension_reform_bill_what_yo.html

Under all scenarios, the fiscal analyses tell us, the workers coming into employment will rest on a new third-tier benefit that is lower than the pension kings living off of Act 9 from 2001, and the post-2011 hires using Act 120.

The Independent Fiscal Office found that under the best-case scenario, a career worker with a final year salary of $60,000 would see a benefit that equals from 82 to 84 percent of a similar worker hired today.

That would equate to a replacement of pre-retirement income of about 55 percent to 57 percent. Coupled with Social Security, that would get our worker to about 90 percent.

Supporters of this bill note that is a good benefit, still well above the 80 percent level than many financial advisors say workers should shoot for. But critics of Senate Bill 1 see a fundamental unfairness in making today's teenagers pay for the mistakes of past elected officials.

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PsychicSarahSays t1_ja3ahhl wrote

Reply to comment by Equivalent_Alps_8321 in PA-SNAP questions, rent change, income change. Thanks. by Equivalent_Alps_8321

Even though others may be aware of the situation, that does not mean it has been reported. Neither the family nor the physician have the resources APS has to ensure the man’s immediate safety.

If they have already made a report, then a second one must be called in immediately to include the current state of the sewer line and the man’s dementia interfering with his ability to make safe decisions.

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WookieeSteakIsChewie t1_ja396y3 wrote

Reply to comment by Super_C_Complex in Pennsylvania Makes Progress Toward Public Employee Pension Sustainability by greenhousecrtv

To retire at 45 as a trooper you'd either need to start at 25 and take the 20 year retirement that is 50% of your highest salary or start at 20.

You can't get hired as a trooper until you have 60 college credits and are at least 21. So at best you're not retiring at 75% until you're 46, and even then most troopers don't start the job until they're in their mid-late 20s and there's a mandatory retirement age of 60.

What I'm saying is the concept you're after doesn't happen much and is a silly argument.

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ktxhopem3276 t1_ja38f3z wrote

Reply to comment by WookieeSteakIsChewie in Pennsylvania Makes Progress Toward Public Employee Pension Sustainability by greenhousecrtv

It makes it harder to game the system. Typically you make less if you work longer in same department than if you switch to a different department and collect a pension from your prior department. My uncle did it in a different state by switching from being a city cop to a transit cop.

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