30
A RETIREMENT PLAN
For Public Employees of Oregon
Continued from page 5
paid. The State Board of Higher Edu
cation has also adopted the policy of
providing a part-time job at half salary
to employees who reach the retirement
age of 70. These two agencies are this
year spending over $100,000 for this
pension payroll. Where a definite policy
of this type exists, it is perhaps easier
to see just what is happening and what
the price. But it is a fact that the same
thing is happening and the cost is even
greater in those departments and in
those cities and counties that have not
established a retirement age but con
tinue their employees on at full salary.
A planned retirement system would do
in an orderly way what is now being
done in a most haphazard and expen
sive way.
As we view the postwar period, un
employment is probably our greatest
fear. As a nation we must be able to
provide employment to the returning
servicemen and war workers. Private
industry automatically expects to em
ploy many millions of the returning
veterans and migrant war workers
through the retirement of older em
ployees who are eligible to the old age
insurance provisions of the social se
curity act and often also to a pension
from the company that has been em
ploying them. Interest in developing
some plan for the retirement of super
annuated public employees in Oregon
is increasing at this time because if the
need for state and local units in Ore
gon to create similar employment op
portunities for the returning veterans.
State and local government will soon
have an opportunity to increase its ef
ficiency as it meets new responsibilities
in the post-war period by the employ
ment of younger men if some plan can
be provided for the retirement of su-
perannuated employees.
Four possible solutions to the prob
lem have been suggested:
1. Social Security Coverage of Public
Employees. Ever since the Social Se
curity Act was passed in 193 5 there
has been considerable interest in the
possibility that state and local gov
ernment employees might be includ
ed under the old age and survivors
insurance provisions of the social se
curity act. This has from time to
time been recommended by the So
cial Security Board and was recently
recommended also by the President.
Constitutional limitations have thus
far prevented the coverage of state
and local government employees
under social security. While the
coverage of all employees, including
public employees, under social se
curity would have certain definite
advantages, I feel that after eight
unsuccessful years of trying to find
some legal formula to accomplish
this purpose .as far as public em
ployees and public agencies are con
cerned, we might as well dismiss
this approach and meet the prob
lem on a state or local basis. The
state of Oregon would probably
not seek a scheme which would in
volve the direct taxation of our state
government and our local units by
the federal government. There are
those who feel that the federal con
stitution has been stretched quite a
bit during recent years but it is
doubtful whether it will be stretch
ed that far.
2. Local Pension Systems. Pension ex
perts report that no retirement sys
tem can be set up on a sound finan
cial basis unless it has a member
ship of at least 300 to 500 em
ployees. This limits the possibility of