Posted Friday, June 15, 2012 --- 8:45 a.m.

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 (http://bit.ly/NDjcPi ) 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.

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Information from: Wisconsin State Journal, http://www.madison.com/wsj

Copyright 2012. The Associated Press.