MADISON, Wis. (AP) – There was a wave of public-sector
retirements last year after Gov. Scott Walker introduced sweeping
collective bargaining changes. That wave has slowed this year,
although the number of retirement applications is still up from
2010.
     The Department of Employee Trust Funds says there were 4,552
retirement applications between January and April. That’s down from
nearly 7,900 over the same period last year, but up 12 percent from
two years ago.
     Matt Stohr is with the state agency. He tells the Wisconsin
State Journal the department doesn’t track the reasons why public
employees retire. He says he expects ongoing retirements as baby
boomers reach retirement age.
     Some public workers felt under attack by the Walker measure that
required them to pay more for their health insurance and pension
benefits.

(Information in the following story is from: Wisconsin State
Journal, http://www.madison.com/wsj)