After more than two decades in city government, Bill Averill has a pretty impressive mental inventory of Milwaukee real estate. He started in the city assessor's office when he was 34, after leaving a private sector job that paid better but had no retirement benefits.
"That was one of the main reasons I went to work for the City of Milwaukee," he says. "And so I knew the pension at some time, way out in the future, would be a benefit to me."
Well, that future is now. At 62, Bill Averill is retired — and grateful to be collecting on the pension that lured him to civil service all those years ago.
Across the country, cities with pension plans for their workers are struggling to pay out the promised funds. Some municipalities have raided retiree savings to pay for other services during the downturn, while others have simply underfunded them.
But despite a 30 percent poverty rate, declining tax base and huge foreclosure crisis, Milwaukee has a model pension program and has managed to keep its promises to retirees.
'No Magic In Pension Funding'
To be clear, no one's getting rich off their pension here in Milwaukee — the average payout is just $23,000. But based on the city's record of exceptional funding levels, Averill and the city's 12,000 other retirees have good reason to believe the money will be there when they need it.
"There is no magic in pension funding," says Jerry Allen, executive director of the city's pension system. "You simply have to put money in the fund."
A recent report from Wilshire Consulting found city and county pension funds in the U.S. have assets to cover only 69 percent of liabilities. Allen says Milwaukee's funding level has hovered near or well above 100 percent for decades. The city's system consistently ranks as one of the strongest in the country.
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