HOLLISTER
About 70 city workers represented by most of Hollister’s bargaining units would receive an increase in their retirement benefits – while those employees have agreed to pay for all of those additional costs – under a proposal going before the council Monday.
Hollister City Council members at their 6:30 p.m. meeting will consider an approval to the increase negotiated over during recent talks with employee unions. City workers this past year during those negotiations reached a deal for pay increases of 4 percent annually in the coming two years.
The retirement benefit increase would change the current formula calling for “2 percent at 55” to “2.5 percent at 55.” The figures are used to compute employees’ annual pay in retirement, allowed at age 55 for full benefits, by taking the percentage and multiplying it by the number of years served. Those workers then receive that percentage of their highest salary while employed with Hollister.
“The reason the council agreed to this is because the employees agreed to pay any and all costs above our current retirement system,” said Quilter, referring to the 2 percent figure.
Quilter said there would be no additional cost to the city, even when they retire and receive the benefits, because the workers pay the difference as figured by an actuarial study done each year and funded by the employees.
The agreement would cover all of Hollister bargaining units except the police and fire departments – the unions of which each already have retirement benefits calling for 3 percent at 50.
