<![CDATA[Washtenaw Watchdogs - Hiring Freeze]]>Sat, 07 Jun 2025 00:23:49 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Should there be a hiring freeze at the County until the new retirement benefits go into effect in January? (With thanks to Comm. Alicia Ping for her support)]]>Fri, 06 Sep 2013 20:48:10 GMThttp://www.washtenawwatchdogs.com/hiring-freeze/should-there-be-a-hiring-freeze-at-the-county-until-the-new-retirement-benefits-go-into-effect-in-january-with-thanks-to-comm-alicia-ping-for-her-support
A county employee told me that her manager had said that she wanted to fill as many vacant positions in her department before January 1, 2014 because it would be unfair to the new employee to miss the deadline for the pension benefit.

This is another example of how the County employees are looking out for the benefit of the employees at the expense of the taxpayer. Each new employee enrolled in the pension plan will cost the county taxpayers money for many years. If a twenty something year old employee works until 55 they will likely receive a pension for about 30 years.

New employees after January 1, 2014 will be enrolled in a defined contribution (401k-like) plan that only costs the county the amount they contribute during the employees work years. It cannot be underfunded like the pension plan is.

Thus, unless a vacant position is critical and must be filled before January 1, 2014, it would be the fiscally responsible thing to wait until the new retirement benefits start. Any critical positions should be brought to the Board for approval.

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