Story Created:
Aug 11, 2010 at 5:07 PM EDT
Story Updated:
Aug 11, 2010 at 6:13 PM EDT
UTICA, N.Y. (WKTV) - The Oneida County Board of legislators met Wednesday afternoon to talk about a plan they hope will be a win-win for the county and its employees.
The county board of legislators unanimously voted to approve two parts of a new retirement incentive program.
The first is for those 55 years or older who have worked for the county for at least twenty five years. Now those employees will be able to retire without a benefit reduction or penalty.
The second incentive proposal is for employees over 55, but who don't have 25 years of service. It gives a month of service credit for every year of service, allowing employees to retire without a penalty.
Employees can participate in either program, but not both.
Last year, Oneida County offered a different retirement incentive with a lump sum payout of $15,000.
County Executive Anthony Picente projects the savings over two years from the previous incentive program will be is around $3 million because new employees are hired at a fraction of the cost, or positions aren't filled at all.
"We do make a substantial payment annually into the retirement system for our employees," Picente said. "So you have to balance out whether those costs equal your overall savings, and in looking at the eligible employees that we have in the county, we saw it would, at the end of the day, be a cost savings for us.".
Around 500 employees are eligible.
The County Executive is shooting for somewhere between 50 and 100 new retirees, for substantial savings.
Last year, 62 people took advantage of the lump sum payout, retirement incentive.
Retires received $15,000.
For more detailed information from the
New York State and Local Retirement system, you can visit the website from the Office of the State Comptroller.
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