Public Employees Rush to Retire

Public employees are retiring at a quickening pace around the U.S., providing a mixed blessing for state and local governments seeking to save money.

The retirements mean employers can shelve some planned layoffs. And some of the departing workers, generally more senior and higher paid, are being replaced by lower-paid employees with less-generous retirement benefits, government officials say. But the loss of veterans threatens to erode the quality of public services that make communities attractive, they say.