A "pickup-on-the-pickup" forbidden in 3 of 5 of Ohio's public retirement funds?

From John Curry, September 26, 2010

http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/article/20100926/NEWS01/9260321/A-free-retirement

A free retirement

BY JESSICA ALAIMO • CentralOhio.com • September 26, 2010

Some see it as a little-known perk for public employees that's a growing burden for cash-strapped Ohio governments and schools.

Others, including public employee unions, say they're saving taxpayers money while shortchanging their own retirements.

The same can't be said for a select group of school officials -- and a few school unions -- that have negotiated deals that give them lucrative pensions without paying a penny for them.

Welcome to the world of Ohio's public pension plans, where confusing terms like "pickups" and "pickup-on-the-pickup" have nothing to do with trucks and more to do with decisions that can lead to free retirements.

With private employer retirement benefits eroding along with local government revenues, local pension costs are becoming a hotter topic in contract talks already strained by the potential layoffs of teachers, police officers and firefighters.

An analysis by CentralOhio.com and The News Journal of pension expenses in 15 Ohio counties found they consume 6 to 12 percent of local government revenues, which in many cases include public employers using taxpayer money to pay for what's normally an employee expense.

Ohio requires public employees to contribute 10 percent of their salary toward their public pension plan instead of paying Social Security 6.2 percent, and tens of thousands do each payday. But many local government employees and school administrators are pocketing all or some of that money because taxpayers are picking up the tab.

The analysis also discovered a limited number of school employees also get a "pickup-on-the-pickup." This practice -- which three of Ohio's five retirement funds decline to do -- inflates employees' retirement income at the expense of taxpayers.

The bottom line? While it's difficult to compare public versus private retirements, a retired public worker collects a bigger retirement check than a comparably paid private employee does from Social Security -- some without contributing a dime. Census data shows almost 732,000 Ohioans lived on Social Security alone in 2008, although 514,000 also received private retirement benefits and 388,000 received public pension checks.