MY EMPLOYEE BENEFITS ARE BETTER THAN YOURS! -- or why it pays to offer the best benefits possible to your housing authority employees Presented By: Francine Breckenridge

“Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them - work, family, health, friends and spirit - and you're keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls - family, health, friends and spirit - are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for balance in your life.” --Brian G. Dyson President and CEO, Coca-Cola Enterprises

Public employment involves a number of advantages not considered in determining compensation. These include:  More generous paid fringe benefits. Public employees have more generous non-wage employer paid benefits than private sector employees.

Employer Paid Fringe Benefits as a Percentage of Wages & Salaries Paid Benefits Compared to Wages & Salaries Public Employee Advantage Private Employees19.0%0.0% State & Local Government Employees24.5%29.0% Federal Civilian Employees33.0%74.0% Calculated from National Income and Product Account data.

 More Paid Vacation Days and Holidays: Public employees generally have more generous vacation and holiday benefits. The average state and local government employee has 9.9 more paid vacation and holidays annually than the average private employee. This is nearly one extra paid day off for each two days of paid leave for private employees. The average federal civilian employee has 13 more paid vacation and holidays annually than the average private employee. This is more than three extra paid days off for each five days of paid leave for private employees. Over the course of a career, state and local government employees and federal civilian employees receive nearly 1.5 years more in paid vacation and holidays than the average private employee.

Annual Paid Days Off Estimated for Average Tenure Employer Total Compared to Private % Compared to Private Private Employees % State & Local Government Employees % Federal Civilian Employees %

 More Paid Personal Days: Some public employers (including at least 20 states) provide additional paid "personal days" off for employees. On average, state and local government employees are eligible for paid personal days at a rate more than double that of private sector employees.

 More Other Paid Time Off: State and local government employees miss more days of work (such as sick days). While the percentage is small, state and local government employees are more than 30 percent more likely to be eligible for paid lunch breaks.

 Federal Income Tax Free Value of Excess Paid Benefits: The more generous public employee fringe benefits are provided free from federal (and state) income taxes, expanding the gap between public and private fringe benefit values.

 Work Weeks with Fewer Hours: Some public employees (at least 10 states) have shorter work weeks than in the private sector.

 Earlier Retirement: Public employees are often able to retire with full benefits earlier than private employees. For example, more than 50 percent of state and local government employees are eligible to retire with full benefits when they have either reached 55 years of age or 30 years of service. Fewer than 10 percent of private employees are eligible to retire at age 55 or after 30 years of service.

 Unused Sick Leave Credit at Retirement: Some public employers permit employees to be paid for unused sick leave or to advance their retirement dates based upon unused sick leave. This is relatively in the private sector.

 Predominance of Defined Benefit Retirement Plans: Public employees are typically covered by expensive defined benefit retirement programs, while private employees are typically covered by less expensive defined contribution plans. Approximately 90 percent of state and local government employees are covered by “defined benefit” pension plans.

 More Pension Benefit Increases. More than 60 percent of state and local government retirees receive either automatic or “ad hoc” pension benefit increases. Approximately five percent of private sector retirees receive pension increases.

 Paid Retiree Health Care: Some public employers provide health insurance for retirees. The overwhelming majority of private employees do not receive this benefit.

 Exemption of Pension Benefits from State Income Taxes: In some states, federal and state government employees are exempt from paying state income taxes on their retirement income.

LATEST STATISTICS Retirement Sixty-four percent of all private industry employees had access to retirement benefits, compared with 90 percent of state and local government employees. Eighty-five percent of state and local government employees actually participated in a retirement plan, compared with 49 percent of private industry workers.

BENEFITS Full-time workers in state and local government had a high rate of access to employer-provided benefits. Retirement and medical benefits were offered to 99 percent and paid sick leave to 98 percent of full-time workers. By comparison, only 73 percent of full-time employees in private industry had access to retirement benefits, 85 percent to medical care, and 75 percent to paid sick leave.

PAYMENT OF MEDICAL CARE PREMIUM For single coverage, employers paid 88 percent of the medical care premiums for full-time state and local government workers and 80 percent of the medical care premiums for full-time private industry workers. For family coverage, employers paid 71 percent of the medical care premiums for full-time workers in state and local government and 69 percent in private industry.

PAID SICK LEAVE Paid sick leave was available to approximately two-thirds of workers. Nearly 9 out of 10 state and local government workers had access, compared with approximately 6 of 10 private industry workers.

What do I need to compete? Hewitt Associates, a management consulting firm in Illinois, reports that the benefits most commonly offered include: Flexible Scheduling Arrangements - 73% offer flextime Child Care Assistance - up to 85% Elder Care Programs - 33% Family and Medical Leave - 20% exceed federal mandated minimums Adoption Benefits - 26% Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) - 85%

Bottom Line Treat your employees as individuals. Show them that their contributions matter. Treat them with the respect they deserve and you will be rewarded with a productive workforce and a lower turnover rate.

DOMESTIC PARTNERS For unmarried domestic partner benefits, about half the workers in state and local government have access to survivor benefits, as compared to 7 percent of the workers in private industry, reflecting in part the difference in the availability of defined benefit plans between these groups. Thirty-three percent of state and local government workers and 29 percent of private sector workers have access to health care benefits for unmarried domestic partners of the same sex. Access to benefits varies by employer and employee characteristics and by whether the unmarried domestic partner is of the same or opposite sex.

Questions

Contact Information Francine Breckenridge Strasburger & Price, LLP 720 Brazos St., Suite 700 Tel. (512) © STRASBURGER & PRICE, LLP. Materials contained within this presentation provide information on general legal issues and are not intended to provide advice on any specific legal matter. This information is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. Every matter is different.