A new bill in the Illinois House is aimed at public sector employees who "double dip" on pensions.
Currently, pensions for state and local government employees are fully vested after 30 years. State Rep. Jack Franks says it's common practice for workers to "retire" at that point, then transfer to another government position while collecting a pension. Franks believes it's a widespread problem across the state: "I think it costs local taxpayers more than state taxpayers. I would assume the cost is in the hundreds of millions of dollars every year."
Under Franks' proposal, anyone collecting a public-sector pension while working in a different job that may be eligible for service credit will have those earnings deducted from any payments greater than $2,000 per month. Employees would also not have to contribute to their pension once it's fully vested, which Franks says removes the incentive to switch positions. Franks hopes the legislation will be considered by the General Assembly early next year.
The legislation is HB-3760.
