“…According
to a recent research paper looking at all states, that moment of contributions'
and benefits' equivalence may be longer away than any teacher thought, and it
will be VERY dependent upon the specific state’s retirement program. Two
significant findings occur in this brief, Negative Returns: How State Pensions Shortchange Teachers.
“‘First, in the median state, teachers must serve at least 25
years to receive a pension worth more than their own contributions.
Teachers with shorter careers get no school-financed retirement benefit
despite their many years of service. They may be better off taking
back their own contributions when they quit rather than waiting to collect
a pension.
“‘Second, the authors estimate that more than three-quarters of
new teachers will earn less in pension benefits than they contributed to
the plan. Instead of benefiting from their pension plans, most teachers
are net contributors.’
“Why? Because new plans in many states – known in
Illinois as Tiers – will push the intersection of contributions and expected
retirement earnings far into the future.
In Massachusetts, for example, recent changes for new hires have made it
IMPOSSIBLE for any of them to ever
meet the parity between contributions and retirement benefits/earnings.
“According
to the authors, Aldeman and Johnson, Tier I teachers in Illinois can expect to
achieve a ‘breaking even’ point after 28
years of teaching.
“The
plan for Tier II in Illinois, which passed the General Assembly in less than 24
hours, asked new hires after January of 2011 to pay the same contribution as
Tier I for less in retirement benefits:
a simple rather than compounded annual cost of living increase, a capped
retirement annuity at $112, 408, a retirement age of 67 and with severe
deductions for an earlier exit.
“This
means that, actuarially, Tier II teachers will need to provide classroom
instruction for 35 years before the ‘break-even
point’ in deserved benefits…
“Tier III offers some
tantalizing differences for the burgled Tier II teachers who are now 6 years into their
profession. Tier III will raise their
retirement earnings ceiling from $112,000 to $127,000. Contributions for Tier III teachers will be
reduced to 6.2% of salary, rather than the 9% they are now paying. And they will be provided a defined
contribution (think a 403b), for which they will pay 4% of salary and the local
school district will match from 2% - 6%...
“Tier
III reduces the multiplier for the final average annuity from 2.2 to 1.25. This means the break-even point will be moved
nearly 40% further into the future. What
took 28 years or 35 years to make parity will take MUCH longer! Example:
Under 1.25, a teacher will be eligible for 50% of a final averaged
salary in 40 years! The cap of 75% of
earnings in retirement will take the Tier III teacher 60 years of teaching!
Start at age 25 and work until 85? The annual cost of living adjustment
will no longer contain a 3% simple rate.
Retired Tier III teachers will receive only ½ of the CPI, but
nothing below zero…”
from Will Your Contributions to TRS Ever Match Your Eventual After-Retirement Earnings? Or When Do I Break Even? Or What Will Tier III Do To Me? by John Dillon
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