Does anyone know what WI public employees pay for benefits now, and what it will go up to?

I work for a non-profit cancer center in the rural Midwest, so our state's #'s might be comparable to Wisconsin's. Though my workplace is community-based, we're not considered public employees so these #'s are for a private employee.

I think my benefits are pretty good, but I'm fairly new to the workforce and don't have a lot of other jobs to compare it to. Our high deductible health plans ($2500) for singles have a premium around $40 a month. Our low deductible plans ($1500) have premiums probably around $60 or $70, I'm not sure. These #'s are for singles, not families. So for me, I have $18 taken out of every paycheck and I have to meet a deductible of $2500 for the year before I get benefits. I do pay lower prices just for having insurance though as the care locations have negotiated rates with my insurance company.

I have no pension, but do have a 401k that is matched by my employer up to 3% of my biweekly paycheck I just started contributing 3% this year to get the match. I have total control of the amount I contribute and what I invest into (stocks foreign/domestic, bonds, cash, etc.).

What are the premiums, deductibles, and retirement for Wisconsin public employees; anybody know?

ed for sp

It really doesn't have to get more complicated than that. I don't really care whether you give me a 401(k) where you pay 5% and I pay 5%... or you just pay me 5% more and I pay the entire 10%. Ignoring tax implications, it's really the same thing. If your company pays 100% of your health insurance premiums, you can bet that your salary is lower than it would otherwise be... by about that same amount.

Roughly 15% of your gross salary goes to FICA. Does it really matter than half is paid by your employer directly and half is paid out of your salary? I assure you that your employer knows how much the TOTAL cost of employing you is... and that's the figure they care about (as should you).

I am just on my way out the door for my fourth day at the capitol in Madison, so I'm in a hurry.

I'm not a member of any of the unions (self-employed), so I don't know the specifics of the benefits. But what is relevant is that through collective bargaining, the union workers have given up a lot in wages in order to have the good benefits. Now Walker is stripping the right to collective bargaining, and trying to make the Union workers pay twice as much for the benefits, while freezing pay.

What is important, if one is to compare, is the total compensation package.

And what is MOST IMPORTANT is that he is stripping away collective bargaining. He is a bully.

SOLIDARITY :patriot:

:shrug:

Wouldn't this affect the governor himself?

and said for the average state employee, Walker's plan would cost them $3300 a year. That is almost $300 a month. Most middle class families I know would really feel the pain of an extra $300 a month for benefits.

for 100,000 employees to lose $3300 per year (which will save them $495 in federal taxes alone) or for 4,000 employees to lose their jobs? Both of those cuts would presumably cost the same.

My other questions would be. How much revenue can be raised with a 1% surcharge on incomes above $100,000 and/or a .2% addition to the sales tax?

I don't think this is as much about balancing the budget as it is about busting the unions. That is why he is trying to take away most of their collective bargaining rights.

Check out this post detailing Walker's tax cuts,some already a done deal, some in the works.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=447965&mesg_id=447965

And the proposal is to raise that from 5% to 12%.

But I do not know if the 5% figure is for singles, couples or families.

Because where I work in Kansas, for a city. There are two choices for health care, besides the choice of nothing.

There's 80/60 for $618.97 for singles, $1146.28 for couples or $1274.4 for families (amazing how multiple children can be covered for just $128 a month)

Then there's 90/70 for 650.49, 1166.28, or 1293.44

For 80/60 a full time employee pays $0, 286.57 pr $318.61 or 0%, 25% or 25% (but if you look at it another way, people with families get paid $336.86 per month more than single people for doing the same job for the same employer.)

For 90/70 a full time employee pays $31.52, 306.57 or 337.61 - or 4.8%, 26.3% or 26.1%

So I don't really understand the whole 5%/12% breakdown.

It varies a little across agencies. I am an at will, non-union state employee.

Health care premium: currently $89/month; will go to $204/month
Retirement currently 1% or $35/month; will go to $198/month
Total proposed increase= $278/month less take home, $3336/year

These new contributions will be on top of the 3% ($102/month) cut from furloughs that have been in place since 2009.

After this bill passes, I will take home $380month/$4560year less than I did 2 years ago. My kids are already eligible for free lunches at school.

For me, I put up to 3% in my 401k, my employer matches, and then grows (presumably) over the years. With no growth, at retirement I'll have exactly what I put in + exactly what my employer put in. If the market completely tanks, I could lose all.

Since you're saying that retirement is a set amount amount that is required to go up, I'm assuming the WI public employee retirement program is not optional? I don't know much about the difference between 401k's and pensions.

Why don't companies offer pensions anymore?

And what happens if you leave a job with a pension? If I leave my job right now, my 401k can rollover into another 401k or into an IRA, albeit with a little paperwork on my part.