I said nothing about expecting a 2% salary raise over 30 years. It seems you question the ability to reach $150k annually for a pharmacist with the VA by the time they retire though and, thus, then subsequently be eligible to earn a calculated $45k pension in retirement for 30 years of service. Currently, in my region, the max out is at $134,469 for a rph working day shift and never earning a single lick of shift differential (highly unlikely). So long as there is a 1% increase in salary a minimum of 11 times before a person's retirement, that base salary max out figure will be pushed to >$150k annually. I'm optimistic of that very real possibility. For someone who wants to boost their Highest 3 Salary Average even higher than $150k, a 3 year stint pulling overnights makes for a sweet deal. An overnight rph can already earn over that future forecasted $150k figure at the VA. Current max out salary in my region, with all differentials included, for a night shift rph is $163,043. That's current figures...no future forecasting.
I'm in agreeance with you in regards to "WTH are they doing with all this money when clearly just getting normal market returns would come out to way better outcomes." My focus is on what the government benefits will do for me though. FERS pension allows me to retire at the age of 57 years old with 30 years of service, and start collecting a pension immediately at that age while social security and 401k will still not allow me/will ding me with penalties if I touch that retirement money earlier than 59.5 years old (for 401k). The VA allows me to do something very few other employers will; retire at age 57, WITH an income! What I love about FERS pension most is the protection it offers from market volatility. While you state that the history of the market can return more for your money, and I do not disagree with you on this, I would still support having a FERS pension for the minor 4.4% that they take out of my paycheck in exchange for the security it offers should there be any market crashes in my years of retirement. During the years of any market crashes in the future, I plan to not touch my 401k and only live off of my FERS pension and other investments outside my 401k until the market rebounds. It's an invaluable feeling of security knowing that I will receive $45k/year regardless of the state of the market, and that I can avoid withdrawals from my 401k during bad times and still live comfortably in retirement. Sound sleeping is priceless. The original poster of this thread wished to know whether to take a job with the government or some other employer. I'm not touting that the government manages their money well. I'm stating that they offer a superior retirement package to others that would be hard to match anywhere else, and that an initial paycut would be worth it in the end.
What people don't remember about the VA is that it was only since 2005 that the Special Pay Authority was passed. In 2008, the Special Pay Authority for Physical Therapist was allowed to lapse, and their salaries fell to the GS schedule at 12 and above.
Remember that the way it works is that you are guaranteed the GS scale and the locality pay for your area, that's it. So long as PBM SHG can keep a Special Pay Authority for the 0660 class of employee will there be a pay differential. Pharmacists currently in the VA system average between $115-$128k at the moment (with lows at $85k and highs at the SES floor at $159k). Bonuses and pay accession change that (that's why the Chiefs, VISN staffs, VHACO, and VACO staffs on paper make the same but are actually quite different) which can figure into retirement. However, that SPA can be revoked (and it is considered unfair to the pharmacists working in any job but VA right now), and we revert back to the General Schedule.
By the time you retire, at the very worst, I would expect that you would make the GS-12 Step 10 locality pay for your area, not the pharmacist salary. What I expect (which is better than the worst case) is that you will retire with one grade up in the official GS (so if you are a GS-12 pharmacist, you would retire as a standard GS-13 Step 10 civil servant). I do not expect nonsupervisory and nontechnical (technical being the ADPAC, QM, BCMA Coordinator, PE, RD) pharmacists to retain GS-13 as a rank, I have a strong feeling that the next Handbook reorg will reclassify those back to GS-12. But, I do not expect payband increases like what is happening to medicine (they are grossly underpaid in the VA right now) or NP/CRNA (which the NP's are still pathetically paid less than a GS-12 Step 1 pharmacist and the most senior Nurse III is paid less than a mid-grade pharmacist 12 on the Nurse III scale) which most of the policy staff have targeted for pay adjustments. You would come at the end of the good times cycle for VA.
The issue though is whether or not the lot of us are going to survive the next RIF. That's an argument that's yet to be made seriously. Usually attrition does it, but there are not too many pharmacists who retire from civil service. Think about this way, I'm 15 years into civil service, and the percentage of 0660 personnel who have Career Conditional Entry Dates within my year (so a year before July 2004 and after) and are still FTE somewhere in the civil service is less than 20% and we've not even gone through a RIF in that time. And yes, the Office of the Actuary has to calculate these attrition rates in order to price our unemployment insurance with the state.
I don't consider anyone credibly an employee until they hit their career tenure (3 years) and not lasting unless they hit benefits tenure (5 years). Most fail to keep themselves employed even that long here.
Also, it's not possible to raise your salary even through overtime over the Executive Schedule Floor, period, even with Title 38. While you do earn overtime, that does not figure into your pension unlike some screwed up states (thank you Reagan for that reform). My FERS and your FRAE are off your official salary with pay adjustment.
Why I do like the government package is the same reason I like the DoD package. You won't get rich off it, but they do take care of you. Having the FEHB health insurance plan is really awesome for catastrophic matters, and the pension is not bad at all even if the market way exceeds that. So long as you aren't junior staff, there aren't grey-haired layoffs either. There are a lucky few who did better in the private sector, but by and large, I agree with the actuaries that most would have been better off with a defined benefit plan rather than a defined contribution plan if the entity did not go bankrupt.
One last warning as it is a temptation. Some of us work in positions that are not scheduled as pharmacists anymore (me being one of them). Should you find yourself in that position, you have to argue on pay grounds whether you retain the SPA. Let's say it's an even proposition and it really depends on the circumstances and the person. In my case, I retained it due to the fact that I was recruited for the position. However, there are many pharmacists working careers as FACHE staff who give up the pay for power.
