This is abusive to the taxpayers who have no luxury public pensions. we cannot afford this luxury on top of generous health benefits. This shows that next time Menino asks for a tax increase you know it is not needed.

The amount by which the retirement funds across Massachusetts are unfunded will just go deeper. What is the percent underfunded? It used to be nearly 50%. The actuarial assumptions counted on an 8% return, so it has to be lower today. So any increase in public pensions is really just more debt.

Fools are managing the public's money.

Anyone who took a stats class (I bet few on the city council every did) know that an average calculation doesn't tell the whole story. I'm guessing a police detective's pension is going to be much higher than the average and a DPW laborer's pension will be much lower. Perhaps there is merit in providing help to the lower pensioned retirees. The city council should apply extra effort to mak esure those who really need it, get it. I don't think a worker from one of the more highly compensated career paths, who retired in their early fifties and is working in another public sector job or started another career in the private sector needs it. This is a case where one size does not fit all.

SO- Yesterday there was an opinion piece about the raise in fees at UMASS and the writer felt they were justified.****** I found these facts at MASSLIVE.COM......"Of the top 100 state-employed earners last year, only seven were not working for the University of Massachusetts, according to Open Checkbook. The top earner, University of Massachusetts Senior Vice President for the Health Sciences and UMass Medical School Chancellor Michael F. Collins, made more than $761,000 from the state last year. His annual rate for that year was $566,233. Twenty-four other STATE EMPLOYEES also earned MORE than $300,000. You can search the complete University of Massachusetts payroll database, which includes about $1 billion in 2011 earnings and about 19,000 individuals, for yourself ......".*******The GLOBE sees nothing wrong with charging the kids more for FEES while paying out these salaries.I wonder what their pensions- probably more than most people MAKE in Ma.******YUP- that would be the best use of our money, more bennies, and we PAY,PAY,PAY.

Menino wants to hike retired teachers' pensions... How come? Is he going to run for re-election... yet again? And how come this idiotic waste of tax money spending comes about just as Menino decides to find a new revenue source by raising the costs of getting married at City Hall. Two very bad public policies...made by a mayor whose past policy idiocies have included a wish for 1,000-foot high skyscraper near Macy's and a wish to ban gas tankships from Boston Harbor. Pandering is Menino's middle name.

Durkin said. "It's recognition that they are not getting rich by any means on a public employee pension.'' Not getting rich? The assets needed to fund one, average, $33,000 pension (assuming a 25 year retirement and a 6% investment return) would be about $420,000. For the newer average of $49,480, it would take $630,000. If the investment return is lower (and that has certainly been the case since 2000) or a retiree lives longer, the assets needed to fund these pensions obviously expand. Note that this doesn't include health benefits. Would anyone imagine someone with $500,000 in assets (or a claim to $500,000 in assets) as anything other than extremely well off? This is the game in the public sector. No one (including the Globe) ever does the math. Public workers (certainly the relatively higher compensated public workers) retire as pension millionaires (if not multimillionaires). How many people in the private sector (even middle management) retire with a GUARANTEED near million dollar backing of wealth? Government is increasingly being run for the public employees benefit. That the city can imagine raising, yet again, pensions under the current trying economic circumstances merely proves this fact.

The bottom line is simply this: Defined benefit pensions are no longer affordable. Public employees, like the private sector, must move to 401(k) plans.

A $30. per year increase to a retiree is an insult. These same people who are ALWAYS whining about public pensions step right up to to the government trough when there is an increase due on Social Security. Public employees in Mass. are NOT elgible for Social Security. How far is $30. per year going to take you before or after taxes? Get real!

The average Social Security payment in the US is $1100/month.When Medicaire and the Medicaire supplement are subtracted, it is about $800.That's about 10,000-$13,000/year. This amount is received by people who also pay taxes to support public pensions.

As a public employee, I would definately welcome the change from a pension system. There are many benefits provided by a joint Social Security / 401k-403b retirement plan that the pension doesn't come close to matching. On top of the 11% contributed to my pension plan, I also pay for disability and life insurance, which Social Security would provide to my spouse and minor children upon my death or disability, but which the state pension plan does not. I also contribute to the 403b plan to make up for the *increasing* likelihood that the pension will not be available to me upon retirement, should I decide to stay with my employer. If I leave with a lump sum, I take with me my contributions plus the measly .015% interest earned (compounded annually, to boot). While the average employee has contributions of 15.3% to Social Security (half employee and half employer in most years), plus the ability to contribute $17,500 to a 401K plan, along with up an employer match, I'm limited to my required 11% pension plan (with no employer match, other than the interest earnings) and 403b contributions of $17,500 with no employer match. The flip side to this, however, is that most financing models report it would cost the employing agencies more to switch (even without a 401K match), based almost entirely on the employer's required matching Social Security contributions.

You pay taxes for schools, fire departments, police protection, etc.

ok, then give me back all of my 11% that I've paid for years and allow me to collect Social Security. Or should people who work in the public sector be penniless in retirement?

An increase of ten cents per day!!! And some rightwingnuts are upset??? Save that dime a day for 2 weeks and maybe you can buy a half gallon of milk! Extravagant!!!

My comment was not that of a right-wing nut.I am anything but right -wing.The simple fact is that Social Security payments,although a life saver,are,on average $1100/month. I'm all for taxes to support the public good and fairness but we pay for Soc Security and for public pensions through payroll deduction.

Has Mayor Menino changed his mind about running for reelection? He did say this was going to be his last term, and he has deteriorated like an over worked race horse. He is in terrible shape and looks like he should be put out to pasture.