From the link below:
Before the 2011 Budget Repair Bill signed by Governor Scott Walker (R), most state employees in the WRS contributed only about 0.2 percent of their wages toward the pension plan.
.
.
Now that the reform bill has passed, most government employees must contribute 5.8 percent of their wages, resulting in a new taxpayer cost of 23.7 percent of wages.
It has been frequently reported that the new 5.8 percent employee contribution is “half” of pension costs, but 5.8 percent is half of the improper normal cost estimate that is unadjusted for a risk-free discount rate. In reality, most government employees in Wisconsin now pay about one-fifth of the cost of their retirements, not one-half.
Understanding Public Pension Costs and Retirement Funds for Public Sector Workers
Lakhota's post is very misleading. The employee's money they contribute to their pensions is expected to grow at an annual rate of 7.2% in Wisconsin. If it doesn't the taxpayers have to make up the difference.
That's funny. Well, if The Heritage Foundation said it - it must be true.
Well, then let's try some other sources:
" Pension contributions: The bill would require that employees of Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) employers, and the City and County of Milwaukee contribute 50 percent of the annual pension payment. The payment amount for WRS employees is estimated to be 5.8 percent of salary in 2011. Currently, state, school district and municipal employees that are members of the WRS generally pay little or nothing toward their pensions. "
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Wisconsin_Act_1 0
--- I don't think the WI public employees are getting screwed too badly
" We'd like to cite one more survey, one by the Wisconsin Legislative Council which found that even among major public employee retirement systems, most required employee contributions of more than 5 percent. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, "for government workers with a required plan contribution, the average contribution is 6.3 percent of earnings." So Walker's proposal is in line with the norm for government workers. "
PolitiFact | George Will says Wisconsin governor's benefits proposal would still leave workers better off than those in private sector
--- In this one, at the end the writer is talking about the guy that wrote your article
" The Wisconsin Retirement System and deferred compensation are two completely separate things. Full-time state- and local-government employees are participants in the Wisconsin Retirement System, which uses taxpayer money to fund both the state (around 5 percent of salary) and employee (another 5 percent) contributions to their pensions.
On top of that, if they choose, state employees can participate in the deferred-comp plan, where they decide how much of their money to set aside, pre-tax, and a portion is matched by the state. That is in addition to their traditional pension contribution.
All this can be found in Chapter 40 of the Wisconsin State Statutes, which clearly demarcates each program in separate subchapters. Further, the Wisconsin Retirement System is explained in detail in this paper from the Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau.
This is what happens when national writers become instant experts in state-benefit issues — expect a correction post soon. Sadly, the toothpaste might already be out of the tube. "
ForbesÂ’s Wisconsin Pension Myth - By Christian Schneider - The Corner - National Review Online