"Plundering" federal employees' retirement funds

[John Ranalletta]

A lot's being made of the fact the government is taking money out of the G-fund and the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Funds (CSRDF) to keep spending and to avoid busting the debt cap.

 

What's the big deal? SS contributions were plundered long ago. Concern about refunding borrowed fed employee retirement funds leads me to believe SS contributors are 2nd-class citizens. SS retirees have to trust to collect on government's IOUs, why shouldn't fed employees? Just sayin'.

 

 

[Dave McReynolds]

It logically makes no sense why federal government retirement funds need to be in a trust fund at all. Payment of federal retirement benefits depends on the ability and desire of whatever government is in power at the time to pay them. What is the benefit of a trust fund if the US currency is worthless at the time the benefits are due? What is the benefit of a trust fund if there is no US government to pay them at the time the benefits are due?

 

The same cannot be said of local and state retirement plans, as the trust funds can continue to exist and function even if the state or municipality goes bankrupt, or perhaps even if they secede from the US.