CLEVELAND— Taxpayers United of America (TUA) revealed government employee wages and pension estimates for Cleveland and Cuyahoga County. Ohio’s government employees are not only receiving generous salaries, but when retired, many will become pension millionaires. Ohio officials refused to release pension figures, so the pension payouts are close estimates* for this report.
“Why are Ohio lawmakers hiding their pension information? Are they more concerned with protecting abusers, than reforming a system that holds taxpayers hostage?” asked Christina Tobin, TUA Vice President.
“I have hand delivered letters to Gov. Kasich and each member of the Ohio General Assembly, asking for transparency regarding individual pension amounts, as well as meaningful pension reforms that will be both fair and sustainable.”
“Cleveland area taxpayers struggle through this recession with an average household income of $50,000, while government employees really rake it in for as many as 31 years of retirement benefits. The maximum annual Social Security annual benefit is $22,000, regardless of how much an individual earned in their working career.” Read more →
Findings from TUA’s pension project on Youngstown, Ohio, are featured in this article at WFMJ NBC.
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – A taxpayer watchdog group is challenging Ohio lawmakers to release public employee pension records and support pension reform.Taxpayers United of America contends that employee pension payouts are public information paid for with taxpayer dollars, but says Ohio refuses to make them public.
“We just want the pensions. The taxpayers are funding this and they should have access to see where their money is going,” said Christina Tobin, Vice President of Taxpayers United.
The group says in many cases government pensions are higher than private sector salaries and without reform the system will collapse.
Findings from TUA’s pension project on Columbus, Ohio, are featured in this Associated Press article at The Republic. (The original version of this article referred to TUA as a “conservative” group. The error has been omitted below.)
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A national group campaigning to cut pension benefits for government employees has released data singling out Ohio government workers it says will reap hefty annual payouts in retirement.
Taxpayers United of America kicked off a statewide tour Monday by highlighting top pension estimates in central Ohio, including at Ohio State University and in state government.
Its research identified annual payouts owed to a Columbus police deputy of $213,000; to a state government employee of $215,000; and to a Franklin County government employee of $178,000. The group says that’s $10 million, $7.7 million, and $6.4 million respectively over those employees’ lifetimes.
The group advocates ending pensions for new government hires and requiring workers to pay more toward their pensions. Its tour continues in Youngstown, Cleveland and Toledo.
