There may be good reason that the Wayne County government's pension fund is funded at 50 percent -- among the lowest in the nation. And its sinking, critics say.
Under County Executive Robert Ficano, payouts to about 40 appointees last year, and a separate country wide incentive in 2009, helped trimmed payroll, but may have gone too far, putting the fund in jeapordy for 5,600 retirees, the Detroit News' Christine MacDonald reports.
The paper reported that the controversial early-retirement buyout was so good, a 37-year-old human resources executive, was able to draw a pension after 15 years with the county and earn $42,500 a year for the rest of her life.
The news
"Anybody who could do the math would say, 'Is this realistic?'" former Ficano appointee Sue Hamilton-Smith, who retired last year at age 64 to a $70,800 annual pension after about seven years of county service, said to the News.
"Do I think it was the best deal for Wayne County as a taxpayer? Maybe not. But nobody gave me a Door No. 2."
