Hypocrite Rick Perry Draws Huge Pension And Salary While Firing Teachers And Cutting Education

Rick Perry is being attacked for drawing a $92,000 annual retirement pension on top of his annual salary of $133,000.  Seems hypocritical when the state is trying to cut expenses by reducing salaries and benefits, reducing retirement pensions and increasing state employee payroll contributions toward their health care insurance and retirement.  Rick Perry says that he has earned his retirement benefit through payroll contributions during his 25 years of public service.  He says he is withdrawing what he contributed.

Sounds good doesn’t it.  But it’s not true.  I calculated how much he has probably contributed to his retirement and he doesn’t even get close to what he is and will receive.

Assume that his starting salary was $42,000 30 years before he started drawing his pension.

Assume that he got a 4% raise each year to reach his current salary of $133,000 per year when he started drawing his pension.

Assume that his retirement savings earned 6% annually.

Assume that he will draw a pension $92,000 per year, which he does.

If he only contributed 6.5% of his annual salary to his retirement, his retirement savings will be exhausted in less than 4 years.

Perry would have had to contribute 37% of his annual salary to his retirement fund in order to save enough to receive a pension of $92,000 per year for 30 years.  If he only contributes 6.5% his retirement savings at the time he starts drawing a pension will be SHORT $1,450,000.

So, Rick Perry is lying.  He will have spent much more than he has contributed to his retirement before he is old enough to qualify for Medicare and Social Security.  After that Texas taxpayers will be paying for 100% of his retirement for the rest of his life.

The same year that Perry started drawing his generous pension he cut education funding by $4 billion, plans to fire 43,000 teachers, eliminated scholarships for 29,000 low-income college students, reduced or eliminated financial assistance for 43,000 college students, eliminated the state’s medical primary care residency program and reduced funding for the family-practice residency by more than 70 percent.  All this while Texas has the lowest percentage of adults with high school diplomas and the highest percentage of uninsured residents.

Rick Perry puts Rick Perry first.