Please post your approximate PERS annual pension amount and whether it's just for your life or for the longer-lived of you and a spouse -- then we'll know whether to sympathize.

My former Tier 1 friends all whined about how much they could have made if they worked in the private sector.

That's utter B.S. for Tier 1 members because if you work back the present value of the GUARANTEED Tier 1 PERS pension to annual amounts, there are very few cases where the private sector provided a better true income.

Also, a person funding a 401K must accept either a very low return to minimize risk or accumulate a very large "cushion" as protection against a market collapse. Tier 1 retirees have no such worry at all because their annual pensions are guaranteed by the private taxpayer.

-- Paul