Double-dipping is common for public-sector 'retirees'
Retirement is a loosely defined term for many Silicon Valley civil servants, who as young as age 50 can begin drawing their pensions even while performing other lucrative jobs on the taxpayer dime.
Newly retired Santa Clara County Fire Chief Kenneth Waldvogel becomes the latest example next week, when he returns to work as a contractor, earning up to $108,480 for the next six months -- on top of his $200,000 annual state pension -- while the county searches for his replacement.
He joins five other retired Santa Clara County officials who have recently been hired back and are benefiting from a practice critics call "double-dipping." Meanwhile, the fire chief in the city of Santa Clara has been working under such an arrangement since 2004, when he retired at 53, then immediately returned to his old job, where he continues as a part-timer earning $100 an hour....