Retirement ought to be a time in which every person can relax, spend time with loved ones, and pursue interests and hobbies. And yet, these days, too many of our neighbors are stressed that their golden years will lack the security and dignity they have worked so hard for throughout their lives. Rising cost of living is leading many older workers to stay in the workforce longer out of necessity.
When it came time for me to retire three years ago, my husband and I discussed these concerns. I taught for over three decades, wrapping up my career at PORTA Public Schools. It’s fair to say that I dedicated my life to educating and preparing young people for their futures, while my spouse did in-home care for my mother as she navigated Alzheimer’s. I often joked about how lucky I was to have a job I loved, rather like a football player making a living playing their favorite game. I felt it was worth it to make a difference at a job I loved, despite having a salary that was significantly less than what I could have made in the private sector. I also knew I had a pension on which I could retire when the time came.
For many public workers – from police officers, firefighters and teachers, to state park employees and sanitation workers – pensions are the only source of stable retirement income they can count on. Pensions are incredibly important to the economic security of retired workers and their families, with those dollars going towards essentials, including housing, medical bills and food.
That said, there is a great deal of misinformation out there about retirement security and pensions, with so much jargon bantered about and persistent gaps in financial literacy. Retirement security is best defined as having 60 to 80 percent of one’s pre-retirement income once an individual stops working.
One common misconception is that all retirees will receive federal Social Security benefits, providing a foundation of retirement protection. However, this is not the case for most Illinois public employees. Instead of Social Security, many public sector workers will receive a pension, which they are likely dependent on as their only source of retirement income. Instead of the state, and as a result, taxpayers, paying for Social Security, the state (taxpayers) are instead contributing towards pensions, meaning it is no different than Social Security from the standpoint of what taxpayers are covering.
Another misunderstanding is that said pensions only impact public workers and retirees, when in fact, everyone is impacted. When a retired librarian, firefighter or park ranger receives a pension benefit payment, they will spend those dollars in their local community on goods and services. The effect is significant economic output that supports jobs and generates tax revenue, which helps fund the services we all depend on, including schools, roads and clean water, per a new report from the National Institute on Retirement Security. When municipal or state elected leaders divert resources from workers’ retirement security, there is even greater risk on future generations and the stability of our economy.
Ironically, as many teachers I know have done, I worked extra jobs, especially when my husband was taking care of my mother, to make sure we could make ends meet. In the course of those jobs, I have earned enough hours to make myself eligible for Social Security. However, because I have a pension, I will never recover the money I was required to contribute into Social Security.
Over the last three years, the pandemic has exposed workforce challenges across sectors. Public sector employees have felt those impacts acutely as those who are employed by state and local governments work hard to ensure residents receive key services. Our educators, public safety officers, public works, and emergency technicians all play an important role in keeping localities running, increasing the importance of protecting pension benefits from future cuts.
From the first responders who keep our neighborhoods safe, to the sanitation workers who maintain our public spaces and protect public health, there is no doubt that public sector workers keep our communities moving forward. I urge all to come together and contact your elected officials about this issue. It will take all hands on deck to help identify sustainable solutions. Our communities will be that much stronger for it.
A schoolteacher for more than 30 years, Patricia Woods was honored for excellence in history education in 2019 and has been a National Board Certified Teacher since 1998. Today, Pat lives in Petersburg with her husband, George, and occasionally takes on long-term sub positions to help out local schools, which are struggling to find substitutes.
This article appears in Summerguide 2023.
