Indiana taxpayers contribute millions to lawmakers' generous pension plan

Indiana taxpayers contribute millions to lawmakers' generous pension plan
Posted 8/15/2008 12:51 PM EDT on IndyStar
This is data on my state representative from this article in the Indianapolis Star.

Pension data for Rep. Clyde Kersey

A Democrat, Kersey is a current member of the Indiana General Assembly, serving House District 43

The "member input" column shows the amount contributed each year by Rep. Kersey.

YEAR MEMBER INPUT MATCHING
1992 $0.00 $0.00
1993 $0.00 $0.00
1994 $0.00 $0.00
1995 $0.00 $0.00
1996 $83.15 $332.60
1997 $1,636.10 $6,544.40
1998 $1,400.85 $5,603.40
1999 $1,661.65 $6,646.60
2000 $1,409.95 $5,639.80
2001 $1,820.97 $7,283.88
2002 $1,777.77 $7,111.08
2003 $2,186.01 $8,744.04
2004 $1,968.24 $7,872.96
2005 $2,162.92 $8,651.68
2006 $1,946.92 $7,787.68
2007 $2,258.91 $9,035.64
2008* $1,461.25 $5,845.00
Total $21,774.69 $87,098.76
* partial year


The "matching" column shows the amount contributed each year by taxpayers.

During the years covered by this analysis, Rep. Kersey contributed a total of $21,774.69 while taxpayers provided a four-to-one match of $87,098.76, providing a total of $108,873.45 in contributions to Rep. Kersey's pension fund.

Note: The total represents accumulated contributions and does not include interest earnings.

Thank you, Mr. Tully for letting some sunlight shine on our elected representatives. "If you want to understand why so many people don't trust politicians, take a look at the Indiana Legislators' Retirement System." The above represents my district. Not bad, huh?

Mr. Tully reports, "How generous is it?

"That is about as lucrative a program as I've ever heard of," Tom Hardin, a financial planner with Canterbury Investment Management in Zionsville, told me. "You wouldn't be able to find that anywhere -- in corporate America or elsewhere."

I didn't realize being representative was a life-long occupation. Certainly serving the constituents of a district is a sacrifice or should be. It should not be rip-off the tax payer time. From the article,
"Typically, you're going to find that most corporations will have contribution matches that top out at around 3 percent. Maybe 5 or 6 percent on the high end -- but not 20 percent," said Elaine Bedel, president of Bedel Financial Consulting in Indianapolis. "We're treating our legislators very, very well."

She's got it right. We, the taxpayers, are paying for this. How does this happen? A lack of transparency in government is the cause. Several states are initiating a web site that shows where the money goes and who gets it. One is from Ohio and is modeled after the federal government's new site, USAspending.gov. I wrote an email to Rep. Kersey about this for Indiana. His staff replied "that he thinks this idea has merit and will look into it before the start of the next session."

Situations like this, the misuse of tax payer dollars for personal gain, is not just the fault of the politicians. We the tax payers and voters have a duty to watch our elected officials, demand transparency, and throw the bums out if they can't or won't do the will of the people. GRRRRRRRR!