Employers crack down on retirees who 'double dip'

The hockey player does not get paid through tax dollars and that is the main difference. One career supported by tax dollars should be the limit. If a second career is required perhaps it should be in something that adds to the countries GDP.( Contributing to a pension entitles you to benefits as defined by the pension plan) This is true but the govt employees contributions comes from govt tax dollars. The farmer recieves his cheque from selling his product and donates his tax dollars to govt pensions and yet he can't afford a pension of his own. If his tax dollars go towards the govt workers pension shouldn't it also support a pension for himself? As for pensions that aren't high enough to support the govt workers lifestyle, perhaps it's time the realized there are a lot of canadians with no pension other than cpp and oap.

In many school districts across this country, retired teachers are not permitted to supply teach.

Seems the purpose of this article isn't to discuss double dipping but to attack teachers.

For the record I'm not a teacher. Call it doubble dipping or whatever but what I have a problem with is how much work is beiing put in during the time when ex-gov. employees come back to work during their retirement. When teachers come to work they put in a day's work, retired or not and it's a stressfull day at that. Look troughout the Gov. at the so called retired consultants. These people do very little and charge us outragous rates making double or triple of what they made before retiring. And their friends who still work in the system are signing off on these payments. I don't think teachers are the problem here, they deserve what they make and we pick on them because they are an easy target. The problem are fake consultants in upper management and other greedy free loaders taking care of each other inside and outside of the system in most Gov. institution.

Say what you like, good ol fashion greed and coveting hidden behind the veneer of 'Im helping the school with my expertise'. Give young families and teachers a chance like you had 25 years ago!

If you don't plan for your retirement then it's your own damn fault if you can't get by on what you knew would be a decreased annual income...you had your whole career to prepare for it with no threat of job loss, a very generouse salary, and no worries about your pension dissapearing.
I'm sick and tired of the workers and thier unions that are payed out of our tax dollars milking the system for all its worth and then crying about how hard thier lives are or will be, if we take this away or take that away.
Suck it up Buttercup! lifes tough get a helmet!, do your job, for whatever the govt and taxpayers are willing to pay, or get another one... we in the private sector suffer with every downturn in the economy, you don't, we also have to pay into pesions, we also have to put money into private plans or investments to insure were not eating catfood 3 times a day when we are too old to work and many of us HAVE TO WORK 2 JOBS and 50 - 70 hours a week to even come close to what a teacher gets paid...all persons who get paid out of the tax coffers should have to abide by the same rules as the rest of us ... you get your pension when your 65 and you only get 1 unless you have provided for a second through the private sector and you can't collect a govt pension while working for the govt unless your willing to have your pesion scaled back according to your earnings.
You people who work at the taxpayers expense need to S.T.F.U. do your jobs and take what your given with thanks and gratitude or you should be relieved of your jobs for someone who will... why should any of you be treated any differently than the rest of us....

The biggest problem with the whole system is not the double dipping, but the move by companies, governments, and administrations to meet budgets and increase often already obscene profits (and executive bonuses) by hiring part-time employees to avoid pay for benefit packages to full time employees. See banks, hospitals etc. etc.

The idea of dictating to people what they can and can't do in their post retirement lives is completely unacceptable and a violation of civil rights. They paid into their pension and they're entitled to draw on it once they have retired. Period. If they then choose to take another job, that's entirely up to them.

I have been retired over 20 years and have never taken the opportunity to 'supply'. I was called on 3 occasions the first month of September and declined and asked that my name be removed.from the list. I have been opposed to this practice day-one since there were, and are today, young people (and those not-so-youing who are not retired) and who need a job and are fully qualified and yet have no opportunity to work since ... and get this .... they do not have the 'experience'! How on earth CAN they get this 'experience' if we retirees are called to supply. I see my Federation has taken a first step but it is not long enough! In extenuating circumstances there may be a special need for a particular group of students but as I was an Administrator for over 20 years, I cannot think of more than 2-3 occasions in all of that time that this was necessary. I will ask my Federation to remove their new blanket policy and to set down guidelines for those instances of special need. We need new and refreshing ideas for all students! Why not hire new teachers full time at the Board level (since they deal with supply teachers for all schools in their jurisdiction) and send them out to work in the schools.

I am a retired teacher. I loved teaching and enjoyed the students whom I taught. But double dipping is not really about that. Perhaps it is really about letting go and being satisfied with the income we have. By retirement most have no morgages and children are out of the house therefore there are less expenses. This I would think makes up for a loss of some income. Being happy and healthy are most important and I feel having more money is not really the answer. Our pension as teachers is among the best . Can we not live on that? Let our young have the opportunity to use their skills and the only way for them to do so is to practice what they have learned. No reitred teacher should be given long term teaching assignments. With mentoring and support from school staff the newly graduated teacher would have the chance to gain experience during these long-term contracts. Andrea Suski

I'm really surprised at the negative comments directed at teachers! Yes they do pay into their pensions and they do work hard for the salaries they earn. If people are so envious of the salaries they earn, the holidays they have or the cars they drive then perhaps they should go to university for 4 years to earn their degree and then return for an additional year to earn their Bachelor of Educations! I grew up watching my Dad ( a great teacher) who's work day never ended at 4:00pm...he coached sports teams, marked papers @home, stayed after school to help students with homework, fundraised with his students for school trips...probably why everyone always told me that my Dad was their favorited teacher! I don't see what the problem is having retired teachers on the supply list...all supply teachers get the same rate of pay (if they are qualified teachers), and for these teachers who are so desperate to find a full time job...perhaps they need to widen their search and be willing to move to a new area to secure that experience. Retired teachers paid into their pentions and have earned it...all their income is reported to Revenue Canada and they pay taxes accordingly...it's nobody's business how they decide to supplement their retirement income! Especially with the economy the way it is today...nobody is immune to the changes...including people with pensions!

Perhaps if the price to pay for the retiree was the same as the newbie it would work out better. I don't see why a retired teacher should be limited on earnings again, just think they should be at the starting wage again, and principals should be forced to hire the lowest rate people to keep costs down.

If you knew how small military pensions are or if you had one you need to work to survive

Military personnel in particular face an imposed compulsory retirement age which is far from the "normal" retirement age of 65. Most need to work to supplement the superannuation they receive. They have skills and a work ethic which employers recognize as valuable. Why shouldn't the retired military person and the employer benefit mutually from their employment after compulsory retirement from the Regular Forces?

I had a legal contract with my employer that I would pay a certain amount into the pension plan every paycheck and in return, after a certain period of time and at a certain age, I would be entitled to a pension if I chose to retire from that job. The demand that, if I chose to take that pension I would not be allowed to work after is absolutely discriminatory and should be illegal. I am not a teacher but if they are being discriminated against in such a way, it should be challenged. I left a high stress, high paying job that was jumped at by a younger person but I certainly couldn't afford to live on that pension. I continued to work part time/full time at a lower stress, lower paying job that enabled me to save so that I was able to stop working eventually. The claim that "double dippers" are taking work away from younger people is nonsense. We free up jobs for them.

Surely it is up to the school boards to make sure that they are getting the best value for our tax dollars. If they can get retired teachers with all that experience for the same or a similar cost of a new young teacher then they should. If it is costing more to rehire the retired teachers , then the school boards have an obligation , I feel , to hire younger new teachers. We are contantly hearing about school boards going over budget , being chastised by the various provincial governments , but if in fact they are wasting money in this manner , then they deserve to be made accountable. I do say" if " simply because I do not know this as a fact . Unfortunately in all of this , the one person who we are supposed to be looking out for gets forgotten . That of course is the student .

I think it is double dipping and if you ask the students they would prefer the younger teachers who are excited about teaching and have the energy for our children. I have 2 children in high school and they both have said "we had an older sub teacher today and they just don't have the energy the younger sub teachers bring to the classroom". I feel there are many employers taking advantage of our retirees like Walmart who do not pay any health benefits etc. to the seniors. If the seniors want to work than we should get a break on our tax system by their employers paying for their medical expenses. At what time do we say they are retired and can then use our many benefits provded for the well deserved seniors who contributed to our great country. I don't mind paying for seniors benefits but if our younger employees are stepped over to save on benefits that is no longer a fair society we live in. We need to employ our younger people to continue to build our great country. If you are retired and want to work start up your own business and continue to contributed to our society. Do not take jobs from our younger generation.

To "Shannon"--the reason there is so much negativity directed at teachers is because they make alot of money (llike all govt workers do), while the rest of us are struggling to get by, in a very bad recession. THAT was the reason for MY comment on the cars, etc. It's NOT fair. YOU, as a teacher are NO BETTER than me. (By the way "Shannon"...when you describe yourself, you describe me. My father was the best teacher is the school. Oh, and by the way, I DO have a University Educaton. I have my degree. So, there you go.) However Shannon, in my family, when I was a child/teenager, I will admit I saw alot of financial waste because of the salaries teachers make. I couldn't stand it...while seeing friends (who had "normal" parents) struggled to get by.
As for the person who commented that teaching is a "high stress job"...THAT is because NOONE is discipling the students! Maybe if they taught you something USEFUL in teachers' college, teachers, as a whole, wouldn't have the high stress because students would be listening. Geez!!
OH, and by the way, I haven't had ONE teacher tell me I was wrong about the lack of discipline either. I find that very interesting.

Pretty lucrative pensions and benefits such as paid medical does this not follow many civil servants into retirement. Why would they retire then go back teaching. Far as I am concerned one or the other or they should loose there cpp and old age. Yes many people that are retired have to work for all they have is an old age or cpp. If you retire hauling in a a government employees, or some private company pensions on top why would you have to work. Also they have been cutting back on teachers so the retired or older one's should let go and let the younger take over.

At 46 years old you don't have to retire. I would think they are talking about the people whom are 60 or over years of age. Paying into many pension plans if you go at 46 years old and only 20 years service you wouldn't be able to live on. Many plans there would be a penalty. I woudln't no about Government employees. Then when you think about it if you were with a company 25 years or more what you contributed into that pension fund you would deplete your contribution within a few years of retirement.

This policy should be changed! Once teachers retire, they should stay retired. My son is 24, and cannot find a full time teaching job in the TDSB because there are so few full time positions available. He has to be content with teaching on a "sub" basis. This policy is unfair to the new generation of qualified teachers.