LETTER: Editorial on public pensions hit the mark

Saturday’s editorial on unsustainable public pension costs was the first thing I’ve read for months that was actually realistic and sensible.

Shouldn’t Nevada learn lessons from our Social Security program? Retirement is important. Public servants are entitled to a secure, dignified retirement. However — as a product of the Clark County School District — even I learned that you can’t take more out than you put in without running out of money. It’s simple math.

Reform is necessary. It can be a combination of things. Pensions were put in place to provide income after your working years are over. In our current system, I know many recipients who have drawn more money from their pension than they ever made working. Perhaps the age to draw pension money should be raised to 65 or 67 regardless of years worked.

Working careers typically last 45 to 50 years. Why should PERS be different? Perhaps the employee contribution needs to be more. Non-pension citizens are required to live a sub-standard lifestyle for decades in order to have adequate retirement money. We’ve been too generous for too long with the existing system.