Early-retirement deadline approaches for state workers

DES MOINES – Thursday will mark the end of the line for legions of long-time state employees who have decided to take an early-retirement incentive and exit the public sector.

Robert Bailey of the state Department of Administrative Services said roughly 2,100 senior state workers – about 10 percent of the executive-branch workforce -- plan to take advantage of a program that will offer them financial and health insurance benefits for ending their government services while helping to save the state up to $60 million in reduced operating costs.

“This is all in pencil, not in ink” until Thursday, said Bailey, who noted that up to 113 prospective participants had withdrawn their intentions to retire early since the application process opened in April. “It's not final until the last bell rings, so to speak.”

Under the incentive plan approved by state lawmakers and signed by Gov. Chet Culver last spring, eligible state workers who are 55 years or older with at least 10 years of state government service would have until June 24 to take the incentive that would provide health insurance and monetary benefits for five years. Critics of the program questioned whether the cost savings and promised downsizing would actually materialize.

Senate File 2062 provided that eligible employees who had worked for the state for at least 10 years could receive $1,000 for each year of service, up to a $25,000 maximum to be paid in five equal yearly installments beginning next September. They also would get paid for unused vacation time and receive up to five years of health insurance coverage. Culver said the state will end the fiscal year with fewer employees in the executive branch than when he took office in January 2007 thanks to the early-out incentive.

More than half of the workers who enrolled in the program were in three state agencies – the human services, transportation and corrections departments. Bailey said the target goal was to fill about half of the jobs being vacated by retirees with hires at lower salary levels. The legislation prohibited executive-branch agencies from filling vacancies created by retirements through the program without approval by the state Department of Management. The bill also barred those retirees from resuming state employment.

“It's going to present some challenges,” said corrections agency spokesman Fred Scaletta. “We're going to try to hire back as we can, but the budget restraints are going to present a few limitations. We'll be OK, we'll get through.”

Scaletta said it's been tough attending so many receptions for retiring colleagues. “These are people that I've been around pretty much all of my career. I'm happy for them. They're great people, they're wonderful people to work with, they'll be missed, but I hope they have a good time starting a new beginning,” he said.

Bob Brammer, who has worked in the Iowa Attorney General's Office for 32 years – including being the agency spokesman since 1993 -- said he is approaching Thursday's final day on the job with mixed emotions.

“It's both exciting and tough,” he said. “This is extremely rewarding work.”

William Angrick II, 64, the state's citizen's aide/ombudsman for the past 32 years, said he has wrestled with second thoughts about leaving a post he has held for half of this lifetime.

“We're going to be seeing so much institutional memory lost at state government this week,” said Angrick, who noted the departure of many “go-to” people across state government will mean slower response times and hesitancy among mid-level employees confronted with new and unfamiliar duties.

“It will be felt across the state,” he said. “They're not going to know how to push the button here or twist the corner there and get the problem fixed. I think there'll be delays and there'll be hesitancies and we're just going to have to work our way through it. The institutional memory will be relearned, but it will take some time.”

At the same time, Angrick said the turnover will usher in new people with fresh ideas and perspectives.

“They'll end up finding people who can take our place and do the job probably better than we could,” he said. “It's a balance. Life goes on.”

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