Fake Retirements Give 1,524 Florida Bureaucrats and Politicians $225.9 Million in cash pension bonuses in June 2023 Politician Judge Alice Blackwell is the June 2023 Politician Triple Dipper Queen

Politician Judges Alice Blackwell and Belle Schuman are the June 2023 Top Florida Politician Triple Dippers. Blackwell is collecting a Pension Cash bonus of $726,266 and Schuman taking $602,689 plus huge salaries as the same time to do the same job.

Politician Judge Alice Blackwell a 9th Judicial Circuit is the June 2023 Politician Triple Dipper Queen taking a salary of $182,060 and a fake retirement pension cash bonus of $726,266 at the same time to do the same job and not paying 3% of her salary $5,461 into the Florida Retirement System like other public employees. Volusia County Court Politician Judge Belle Schuman is collecting a fake retirement cash bonus of $602,689 and Salary of $172,015 and shifting her personal responsibility to the taxpayers by not paying 3% of her salary $5,160 into the Florida Pension system.

“Triple Dippers are Florida Public Employees who take a salary and a pension with interest at the same time to do the same job!” said Dave Jaye, Researcher. “Triple Dippers are the only Florida Public employees who don’t pay 3% of their salary into the Florida retirement system-cheating taxpayers out of $226 Million in this month alone! No private company allows such abuses.”

Giving “Public Servants” a paycheck and a pension at the same time to do the same job has led to $36 Billion in unfunded Florida Retirement obligations, a $1,675 liability for every man, woman and child in Florida! Instead of reducing this abuse of taxpayers, the Florida Legislature voted to extend the time Politicians and bureaucrats can collect retirement benefits and a salary at the same time by 60% from 5 to 8 years and 10 years for teachers! https://www.flsenate.gov/Committees/BillSummaries/2023/html/3071#:~:text=Extend%20the%20maximum%20time%20a,or%20after%20July%201%2C%202023.

This giveaway of taxpayer money will cost an extra $3.1 Billion in the first fiscal year 2023-2024. The Legislature increased the taxpayer-paid interest rate from 1.3% to 4% for fake retirement pensions and permits politicians and bureaucrats to earlier start collecting fake retirement pensions and salaries at the same time. The Monthly taxpayer-paid health benefit increases to $225 up from $150. https://thecapitolist.com/frs-double-dip-retirement-expansion-will-make-it-harder-for-private-sector-to-compete-with-state/

Add the Cherry on the top – these Triple Dippers are cashing out their unused days off at their final highest salary, not the salary when the days were earned taking more money from taxpayers and artificially increasing the final year’s pay on which their pensions are calculated. Collecting a paycheck and a pension at the same time, Triple Dippers can afford to delay Social Security which then increases 8% per year to age 70. That’s about a 40% increase in Social Security payments! Triple Dippers are formally called the Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP)1. The Highest June 2023 Pension cash bonus is Ava Goldman, Miami Dade School Teacher Recruitment Director $861,249. Shamefully Ava Goldman, Teacher recruitment Director is part of Miami School District which refuses to pay the employer match of Social Security for Substitute Teachers, Bus Drivers and other Temporary and part-time school employees. Greedy Triple Dippers enrich themselves at the taxpayer’s expense while cheating substitute and part-time teachers out of the employer Social security match which ever other Public and Private employer pays. Teacher Recruiter Ava Goldman has failed students, parents and employers as only 51% of Miami Dade Students are college ready and 19.6% fail to even graduate from High School and 41% of elementary students cannot read at grade level.2 934 Triple Dippers are collecting over $100,000 in June Pension cash bonuses from taxpayers.

“Instead of giving overpaid bureaucrats and politicians more money, use our tax money to help 10,000 people left homeless due to Hurricane Ian3and Hurricane Nicole’s destruction”, suggested Dave Jaye. “

“Although they never really retired, approximately 27,581 Florida Public Employees and Politicians just file paperwork pretending to retire but keep on working and pocket approximately $1 Billion in salaries and $4.63 Billion in pension payments at the same time to do the same job and are the only Florida Public employees who don’t pay 3% of their salary into the Pension System,” stated Dave Jaye. “No Retirement Party, No Speeches, No Gold Watch, and No break in Employment! This scheme to rip off taxpayers was approved by Florida Government Entities by a majority vote from Mosquito Districts to Cities, Counties, Schools, Universities, the State Legislature, and the Governor. These Public Employees in conjunction with their supervisors are perpetrating fraud. The Public Manager or Politician simply signs off on the Fake retirement. If the paperwork is in order that’s good enough. Even though the public employee and Politician never really left their job”.

“Hurricane Ian destroyed the financial security of thousands of Florida retirees whose life savings were invested in houses and condos lost to the storm’s winds and flooding”4, said Dave Jaye, Researcher, tripledippers.org “Hurricane Ian has displaced thousands of Floridians whose homes are now uninhabitable, taking not only their shelter but their financial safety nets.“ Replacing the approximately 27,581 Statewide over-the-hill retired Triple Dippers with freshly educated and trained employees would save approximately 40% around $902.8 Million” stated Dave Jaye.

“This abuse of taxpayers must stop”. “We need to create opportunities for young people to move into these jobs to buy a home and start a family replacing these overpriced-cum-golden oldie Triple Dippers who are just putting $763,622 or more of cash bonuses into the bank. Young people have much lower health care costs, are better educated and have much more energy than these Senior Citizen Triple Dippers,” noted Dave Jaye.

Law enforcement employees typically collect huge amounts of overtime which result in even higher pension cash bonuses.
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“The Florida Legislature and Governor should require Triple Dippers to contribute 3% of pay to the State Pension program just like every other ‘Public Servant’ and increase the ‘Public Servant’ contribution from 3% to 5% as proposed by then-Governor Rick Scott. Retirement cash bonuses should be eliminated”. https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2011-02-01-fl-scott-announces-pension-reforms-20110201-story.html

The public employer (taxpayer-paid) match of DROP Triple Dippers’ salary to the Florida pension system has increased to 21.34% compared to 13.82% for regular-class employees. In 2012 the Employer match for DROP employees was 4.33%. https://fastdemocracy.com/bill-search/fl/2022/bills/FLB00027524/ A major reason the Triple Dippers Program is expanding is that many Triple Dippers work for the Florida State Senate, State House, and Governor’s office and are Elected Politicians. The Employer contribution rate (taxpayer paid) for Legislators, the Governor and the Florida Cabinet is 66.73% https://www.dms.myflorida.com/workforce_operations/retirement/employers/contribution_rates

Links:

https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2079623235780#:~:text=The%20magnitude%20of%20Hurricane%20Ian’s,millions%20more%20still%20without%20power
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/hurricane-ian-destroyed-retirees-life-savings/