Iowa state government salary
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This page describes the compensation, salaries, and benefits that Iowa's public employees receive from state and local government.
The Des Moines Register provides this searchable database for the 2012, last updated Nov. 1, 2012: State Salaries for Iowa.
Elected officials salaries
| Office | '10 Salary | Current Official |
|---|---|---|
| Governor | $130,000 | Terry Branstad |
| Lieutenant Governor | $103,212 | Kim Reynolds |
| Secretary of State | $103,212 | Matt Schultz |
| Attorney General | $123,669 | Tom Miller |
| Treasurer | $103,212 | Michael Fitzgerald |
The salary of Iowa's governor ranks 24th among U.S. governors' salaries. The average salary earned by U.S. governors is $128,735. The median salary earned by U.S. governors is $129,962.[2]
Gov. Branstad said in Feb. 2011 that he would not reduce his salary to help reduce the state's budget deficit.[3] In addition to his $130,000 salary, Gov. Branstad receives a state pension worth more than $50,000 from his previous service in government, a practice known as "double-dipping."[3]
Legislators' salary
Iowa state legislators make $25,000 per year.[4] Legislators also receive a per diem of $135 per day plus mileage tied to federal rate, or $101.25/day for Polk County legislators, which is set by the legislature to coincide with federal rate.[5]
Judicial salaries
| Position | '09 Salary | Current Justice |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice | $170,850 | Mark Cady |
| Associate Justice | $163,200 | Edward Mansfield |
| Associate Justice | $163,200 | Bruce B. Zager |
| Associate Justice | $163,200 | Thomas Waterman |
| Associate Justice | $163,200 | David Wiggins |
| Associate Justice | $163,200 | Daryl Hecht |
| Associate Justice | $163,200 | Brent Appel |
The salary of Iowa's chief justice ranks 12th among U.S. chief justices' salaries. The average salary earned by U.S. chief justices is $155,230. The median salary earned by U.S. chief justices is $151,284.[6]
The salary of Iowa's associate justices ranks 16th among U.S. associate justices' salaries. The average salary earned by U.S. associate justices is $151,142. The median salary earned by U.S. associate justices is $145,984.[6]
State and local employees
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, represents approximately 13,000 state employees, on December 23, 2010, approved a contract with a 6 percent pay increase split over 2011 and 2012. The contract calls for a 2 percent across-the-board salary increase as of July 1; 1 percent more as of Jan. 1, 2012; 2 percent more on July 1, 2012; and 1 percent more on Jan. 1, 2013.[7] Governor-elect Terry Branstad has said the pay hikes will cost the state too much money.[7]
According to 2008 Census data, the state of Iowa and local governments in the state employed a total of 232,004 people.[8] Of those employees, 152,320 were full-time employees receiving a net pay of $605,192,000 per month and 79,684 were part-time employees paid $78,652,186 per month.[8] More than 59% of those employees, or 136,897 employees, were in education or higher education.[8]
The typical state employee earning an annual $40,000 salary costs taxpayers another 35 percent - or about $14,000 - in benefits.[9]
In FY2010, over two dozen Iowa state government workers received $30,000 or more in overtime pay, which the state pays at time and a half.[9]
Teacher Salaries
Iowa lawmakers are discussing using funds from Secure an Advanced Vision for Education fund to help pay for higher teacher salaries. Lawmakers included in the statute that the money collected should not be used for "any other purpose" than school infrastructure or property tax relief "unless the bill is approved by a vote of at least two-thirds of the members of both chambers of the General Assembly and is signed by the governor." The tax brought in $377 million in fiscal year 2010 and $382.8 million in fiscal year 2011, according to Department of Revenue figures. [10]
The Des Moines Register hosts a teacher salary database on its website.
| Beginning Teacher Salary | Average Salary |
|---|---|
| $27,178 | $48,638 |
State employee benefits
The State of Iowa offers its employees many benefits. Employees receiving full-time benefits must work 30 hours or more per week in benefit-eligible positions. Employees receiving part-time benefits must work 20 – 29 hours per week in benefit-eligible positions.[12]
Insurance
Health Employees can choose from several options for health insurance, including two Managed Care Organization (MCO) options, a Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) and an Indemnity. None of the plans offered have a lifetime maximum benefit limit.[12] Prescription drug coverage is included in all options.[12] Employees do not pay for the MCO options.[12] For full-time employees, the state's monthly contribution varies from $398.49 to $643.23 for a single employee and between $932.47 and $1,274.79 per month for family coverage.[12]
Dental Employees may elect to have dental coverage, which comes at no cost for single individual coverage and low cost for family coverage.[12] The state pays $26.14 per month for single coverage and $35.04 for family.[12]
Life Employees in eligible positions working more than 30 hours per week receive basic term life insurance and accidental death, long term disability insurance and dismemberment insurance paid for fully by the state.[12] Employees have the option of adding a supplemental life insurance policy for which the employee pays in full.[12]
Paid days off
Vacation Full-time employees accrue the following number of vacation hours based on their years of service with the state[12]:
| years of service | hours accumulated |
|---|---|
| 1 - 4 years of service | 80 hours per year |
| 5 - 11 years of service | 120 hours per year |
| 12 - 19 years of service | 160 hours per year |
| 20 - 24 years of service | 176 hours per year |
| 25 or more years of service | 200 hours per year |
Additionally, two unscheduled holidays are added to the employee's vacation accrual. Part-time employees earn prorated amounts of vacation based on the number of hours worked.[12]
Sick leave The amount of sick leave earned by an employee varies depending on the number of hours of sick leave already earned and also whether the employee falls under the UE/IUP-covered Social Service Unit[12] Employees in the social service unit earn between 4 and 8 hours of sick leave per month. Other employees earn either 4, 8 or 12 hours of sick leave per month.[12]. A benefit-eligible employee who has accumulated a minimum of 30 days (240 sick leave hours) and who does not use sick leave during the previous calendar month may convert sick leave to vacation.
An employee may be able to use sick leave for medically related disabilities, personal illness, and personal medical and dental appointments. In some cases, the employee can use sick leave for deaths in the immediate family, pallbearer service, care of immediate family members and adoption.[12]
Holidays All permanent and probationary employees receive 9 paid holidays each year.[12]
- New Year’s Day
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday
- Memorial Day
- Independence Day
- Labor Day
- Veterans Day
- Thanksgiving Day
- Day after Thanksgiving Day
- Christmas Day
Other Leave Employees may also be granted leave for a variety of other reasons, including[12]:
- Bone Marrow & Organ Donation
- Disaster Service Volunteer
- Jury Duty/Court Appearance
- Educational
- Military
- Election
- Voting
Retirement
Employees contribute to the Iowa Public Employees Retirement System (IPERS) program, a defined benefit plan. The employee contribution is 4.30 percent of salary and the State’s contribution is 6.65 percent of salary.[12] Employees are always 100 percent vested in your contributions. After 4 years of service or when an employee reaches age 55 while in IPERS-covered employment, he/she becomes vested in a portion of the employer contributions made on his/her behalf.[12]
The Retirement Investors' Club (RIC) is a voluntary savings program that allows employees to set aside a portion of their salary, in accordance with IRS regulations, for use in retirement.[12]
Other benefits
These benefits are available to all employees[12]
- Employee Assistance Program - Confidential assessment, consultation and referral program to help the employee and his/her family deal with personal problems. Counseling services are limited to three sessions with a counselor per incident.
- Employee Discount Program - Program allows state employees to save money by offering savings on popular goods and service.
Available to employees working more than 20 hours per week[12]
- Flexible Spending Account - employees may defer up to $3,000 per year for unreimbursed health and dental expenses on a pre-tax basis and up to $5,000 per year for dependent care expenses on a pre-tax basis.
Additional reading
- Public employee salary
- See sample transparency legislation at the Sunshine Standard
External links
- press-citizen.com's listing of public employee salaries for '08, '07, '06, and '05
- Department of Administrative Services "Salary Book"
- Gazetteonline.com state employee salary data, 2007
References
- ↑ The Council of States Governments The Book of States 2010 Table 4.11
- ↑ http://www.csg.org/pubs/TheBookoftheStates.aspx ‘‘The Council of State Governments,’’ “The Book of the States: 2008”]
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Des Moines Register "Branstad won't cut his salary to help balance state's budget" Feb. 17, 2011
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislators 2010 Legislator Compensation Data
- ↑ NCSL, 2012 Compensation Data, Accessed June 12, 2012
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 The National Center for State Courts, "Judicial Salary Resource Center" as of Jan. 1, 2010
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 The Des Moines Register "98 percent in state union ratify contract" Dec. 24, 2010
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 2008 Iowa Public Employment U.S. Census Data
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 The Des Moines Register "Some state workers' overtime pay tops $30,000 " Sept. 5, 2010
- ↑ Quad City Times, Iowa officials pursue new plans for teacher pay, Dec. 4, 2011
- ↑ [2011-01-01T00%3A00%3A00Z%20TO%202012-01-01T00%3A00%3A00Z
- ↑ 12.00 12.01 12.02 12.03 12.04 12.05 12.06 12.07 12.08 12.09 12.10 12.11 12.12 12.13 12.14 12.15 12.16 12.17 12.18 12.19 12.20 Benefits at a Glance
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