"[1] Pension and retiree health benefits for public safety workers are more expensive than those of other local government workers, largely due to earlier retirement ages. [2] Perhaps surprisingly, though, their retirement benefits make up only a very small share of total local government spending. [3] Some evidence suggests that public safety workers could work longer, which may have implications for plans' retirement age. [4] However, raising retirement ages would have little impact on government finances, particularly since it might involve higher wages to maintain a quality workforce."  MORE >>