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Public Employees Rush to Retire
...The moves are motivating many public employees to retire sooner than expected, as public employees take the opposite approach of many workers who have put off retirement to recoup personal wealth lost during the recession. ...

..."It wouldn't surprise me if they change the rules and say you can't retire before 55," he says. "I didn't want to get stuck."

He was earning about $9,000 per month and will collect about a third of that as a retiree. Plus, he has been hired back as a consultant...

...When the Herricks retire from Oshkosh, they each will receive health insurance until age 65, pension checks and a payment worth $600 per year of service.

"I wouldn't want to risk losing those things," says Mr. Herricks, a high school agriculture teacher who is retiring after 37 years.

Given that pensions are off-limits to certain taxes, Mr. Herricks says they will bring home close to what they did before. They also plan to substitute teach....