More than 2,000 Iowa state employees plan to retire early, nearly double the number expected

2,000 Iowa state workers take early retirement

DES MOINES, Iowa — The more than 2,000 state employees who plan to retire early could mean more savings for state government, a spokesman for Gov. Chet Culver said Friday.

Culver spokesman Robert Baily said the 2,007 applications filed by Thursday’s deadline is much more than initially expected. The plan was supposed to save $60 million by reducing staff and replacing some employees with lower-paid, less senior workers, but the number of retirees is nearly double what was expected.

An updated savings estimate wasn’t available, but Baily said the increase would be “significant.”

“It’s a great step,” he said. “It’s going to allow agencies to move forward and continue to complete their missions without as much worry about layoffs.”

The 1,000 or so new employees who will be hired will earn about half of what their predecessors did, Baily said. State agencies will put together hiring plans for the Department of Management, which will have the final say in what positions are filled.

The number of retirees could grow because some agencies may not have turned in their applications, Baily said. Also, employees can rescind applications until June 24, the last day they will work.

Lee Wilkinson, operations and finance manager for the Iowa Department of Transportation, said employees’ ability to change their minds will likely make the rehiring process more difficult.

“It’s certainly another factor you have to take into consideration,” Wilkinson said. “But we can’t be bugging them about if they’re really going to go.”

Losing nearly 370 workers to retirement will pose some challenges for the Transportation Department, but the remaining workers equipped for it, Wilkinson said. They’re planning now so tasks left unattended by retirements will be covered.

“We’re not looking at it as the sky is falling,” he said. “Our folks have been very resilient in the past.”

The Department of Public Health is losing 29 employees to retirement, and community health consultant Tim Lane said he fears some work, such as the newsletter he creates each day to send to national contacts, will no longer get done.

Lane said he is retiring to pursue work that better matches his interests and because the package’s incentives made it worthwhile.

“Most of what I do I enjoy tremendously, but not all of it,” Lane said. “I would love to be working on projects as opposed to going to as many meetings as I am now.”

Early retirees must be 55 or older. They’ll get $1,000 per year of employment, up to $25,000, and the state will pay its share of health insurance costs for up to five years.

Kevin Baskins, spokesman for the Department of Natural Resources, said agency officials will approach the departure of an expected 66 employees with an open mind. They’ll consider having remaining employees take over some tasks and streamline job descriptions to eliminate unnecessary work.

“Any time you have this many people leaving at once, you look at the whole picture,” Baskins said.

The Department of Human Services, the largest state agency, will be losing the greatest number of employees with 614 retirement applications filed.

Department spokesman Roger Munns said efforts will be made to fill critical positions, such as at 24-hour care facilities, as soon as possible.

Mary Neubauer, vice president of external relations for the Iowa Lottery, said about 20 percent of the agency’s work force will be retiring. A total of 21 employees had applied by Thursday’s deadline.

Remaining employees will have be more flexible, she said. For example, managers might have to deliver tickets to the stores where they are sold.

But overall, Neubauer said, that change is positive because retirees will receive a good incentive package while creating openings for people who need work.

“It’s a good opportunity for everyone involved,” she said.