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State work force faces crush of retirements, report says
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WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Nearly 40,000 Virginia employees will become eligible for retirement over the next decade, leaving some agencies with a potentially crippling loss of their most experienced staffers, a report from the Virginia Department for the Aging says.
The looming baby boomer retirements will be felt across the state work force, according to the report, but some departments said it could strike them more severely and quickly.
The Virginia Department of Education said it would face “critical shortages from expected retirements and turnover” in the next two years.
The Department of Social Services warned that “the loss of staff, leadership and institutional knowledge could hobble the agency, especially if a large number of employee retirements occur at the same time.”
More than 25 percent of the Department of Corrections’ workers will be able to retire in the next five years.
Not all of those employees will choose to leave the work force at once. An estimated 60 to 70 percent of baby boomers are expected to keep working after they reach retirement age, said Tony Hylton, spokesman for the Virginia office of AARP.
“On a broad basis, the boomers are indicating that they are going to stay in the work force longer,” Hylton said.
If current retirement rates stay on track for the next 10 years, 38,400 state employees would reach eligibility with full benefits, the report said. That number excludes staff at the public colleges and universities who could be in other retirement plans.
About 80 percent of the 88 agencies surveyed as part of the report, which was mandated by the General Assembly in 2007, are taking steps to deal with the potential exodus of their older workers, the report found. Some departments, however, “are concerned but did not report any succession planning activities.”
wflook@dcexaminer.com
Comments from Examiner Readers
1:59 PM MST on Thu., Jul. 31, 2008 re: "City faces $2.9 billion gap in retiree health benefits"
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8:01 AM MST on Mon., Feb. 25, 2008
re: "Howard considering trust fund for retiree benefits obligation"
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7:11 AM MST on Sat., May. 26, 2007
re: "More than $10M set aside for retiree benefits"
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5:58 AM MST on Fri., Apr. 20, 2007
re: "More than $10M set aside for retiree benefits"
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Examiner Reader said:
Oh sure, raise my taxes. It doesn't matter that I have no retirement plan. That I have worked since I was 16 years old, not including babysitting when I was younger that 16. All the hardworking state employees, I say hard working because I see them napping in yellow trucks, deserve a big fat retirement check. And the city employees, with all the hard work they do by shopping using city credit cards is tiring. They deserve it also! Take my money, what little I have left.
0 agree | 1 disagree
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Not surprised said:
Retirement should be in 401K plans. With the county and the employee contributing. Then there would be no unfunded liability!
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Examiner Reader said:
Baltimore County's website makes no mention of a 5 % penalty , nor does it tell you how they aren't finish yet... if this information is true then employees who have been loyal and hard working are to be pusished for their committment. If the Administration and Council and Govenment on all levels really are so worried about the system , then perhaps they should show how much they care about all of their constituens out here in the communities it by reaching into thier own retirement systems/pockets and pay into the Social Security System. and Retirement system and cut their pays.. Excuse me, but it would seem that we have elected people who have no problem taking pensions from workers who are the backbone of the entire system....yet..pay nothing themselves... I think that perhaps it may be time that government "for the people" replaces "by the people" with "real people."
159 agree | 150 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Howard County's approach to funding their retirement liability is not being done by ravaging the current employee's retirement as Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith is trying to do. They also have a Spending Committee evaluating the financial impact. Baltimore County did not have the pension system evaluated prior to proposing the radical changes to the current retirement system.
172 agree | 151 disagree
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