Wages for Utah’s state employees typically are lower than for their private-sector counterparts — but their benefits are far more generous, a new state-sponsored study says.
The combined effect is that overall compensation is 6 to 9 percent higher than for similar private-sector jobs, depending on whether state employees are enrolled in the newer, less-generous Tier 2 retirement system or the older grandfathered Tier 1 system, according to a study by Gallagher Benefit Services.
State Auditor John Dougall, whose office contracted for the study, is calling for the Legislature to better align the compensation mix with private-sector competition.