Those figures would be easy enough to look up. Id be willing to guess the city engineer makes at least 15% less and also has to pay 5-10% into his pension. 20-25% extra saved over 25 years would really add up. This doesnt even take into account my cities health care plan which sucks big time.
It's complicated with many variables but I'm giving it a shot.
An Electrical Engineer C at my city water utility makes a median $72,000/yr.
An EE III in my region makes about $84,000/yr.
The city engineer puts in 7.5% into the pension, which makes her pay ~67,000. The private employee can then put in 17,000 into a 401k, and they'll have the "same" pay.
The city engineer can retire after 23 years of service. Let's say they started right after college, so ER is possible at 45. The public employee also gets basic medical and dental plans.
A 45 yo public engineer retiring this year, at the above salary, would receive $48096/month (with survivor benefit).
Q: Can the private engineer retire after 23 years of saving $17,000 and have a safe WD of $48096?
The private engineer would need $1.2MM, at a WD rate of 4% (risky, in today's climate).
Given a 10% return, the private engineer would have $1.129 million at age 45. That's not too far off the public engineer but there are two factors to consider:
1) Risk. The public engineer takes little risk yet receives $48096. A private engineer can lose 25% the year before she retires, thus delaying ER by potentially years.
2) Medical benefits. This, depending on the health of the recipient, can be a huge benefit.
Conclusion: The public engineer has the edge, especially when factoring in health and dental care.