Labor Day is this coming. I have had this thought I want to write about since the conference in Napa last spring. Dr Torres-Gil warned the audience of mostly government employees about the inequity between their benefits and the publics average employment benefits. Los Angeles County is the largest employer in LA County and its employees are eligible for retirement through LACERA. I worked in the private sector for 25 years before going to the county and so I have paid into Social Security, a private retirement account and was vested in LACERA this year. It doesn’t mean I get to triple dip; you don’t get full benefits from SSI and LACERA if you paid both. We are represented at the county. Labor Unions act to negotiate and enforce agreements with the employer and employee. They tend to do a pretty good job at looking after the employee’s interest. So what Dr Torres- Gil was predicting was that the difference from most working people’s retirement benefits and medical – dental- insurance would become a point of contention. Although the reasons are not limited to the idea of government taking care of itself first, that is the inevitable perception. Since I have a foot in both worlds, I will be very interested in how this unfolds as the retirement age population begins to balloon.
I stopped by a big retirement facility on Duarte Road the other day to take my friend Harry a beer. He doesn’t go out much at 87 years old, but when he was living independently we often enjoyed a cold one together. He invested well enough to be able to live comfortably without worrying about what the SSI raise will be this year. As you enjoy the “day off for the working man” on Monday, consider these two things: what plans are you making to support yourself in retirement? Whose shoulders are we standing on that could use a friendly visit on the holiday?And if you do go out to visit, remember this is the last day to wear those white shoes until Easter!