One of my mothers friends, who is now in her 80's, has been retired on a pension for over 40 years. She started working for her municipality right out of high school at 18, and worked 25 years as a clerk to get a full pension. Retired at 43(!) with 75% final pay (annually adjusted) and lifelong medical benefits.
Its totally insane and completely unsustainable. Back in the day people usually keeled over at 65 and the US was viewed as having achieved infinite growth forever, so perhaps back then it was a reasonable but generous offer. Today however it's just straight up corruption and waste to offer benefits like that.
I don't think that's insane at all. Sounds pretty reasonable in exchange for taking at least one third of her time for 43 years of her life (and over those years where she was young and most healthy).
Corporations used to offer similar pensions all the time. They started offering them in 1875 and they were extremely successful doing it. 401(k) plans were a scheme to shift the risk and responsibility from the employer to the employees and that change made already wealthy and successful companies a lot richer, but at the expense of making many people work right up until the day they die, or they become too sick to work at which point they become impoverished. The move from pensions to 401(k) plans was bad for the economy, and for local economies in particular.
The only thing I think is crazy about it is the lifelong medical benefits which shouldn't be on the employer at all since everyone should have universal coverage.
That's ~3.75 million dollars, plus probably another ~$250k benefits from when she turned 18 to today.
So $4 million dollars for 25 years of entry level work.
It works out to roughly paying a secretary at the municipal building $150k/yr to answer the phone? Do data entry? Collect payment for tickets?
You don't think $150k is insane pay for a municipal secretary?
I makes absolutely no difference what she was doing for the company because every second that she was on the clock what she wasn't doing was spending her time with loved ones, pursuing her own goals and interests, or even deciding for herself when she could have lunch or take a break.
Our time on earth is tragically short, and even someone pushing a broom for 8 hours a day is sacrificing decades of their life so that someone else can make money. Any work that needs doing and requires a person to make that sacrifice entitles that person to a living wage and a retirement. People should not have to work for someone else from the age of 18 until they drop dead.