Pension fund needs more from teachers’ paychecks, schools
JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri will require teachers to pay more toward their pensions next year.
Teachers in the Public School Retirement System of Missouri will put 14 percent of their paychecks into the pension fund to help offset the system’s stock market losses.
An equal amount will come from taxpayers. Each school district in the system will contribute 14 percent of its payroll. Currently, teachers and districts each pay 13.5 percent.
The retirement system’s board set the new contribution rate today. It takes effect July 1.
The change — the maximum increase allowed by state law– had been expected. The system’s investments declined 19.2 percent during the fiscal year ending June 30.
“We know we’re facing at least a couple more years of increases,” said Steve Yoakum, the system’s executive director.
Though the portfolio’s value is up 12 percent since July 1, “we have such a large hole to climb from that it’s going to take a number of years of good returns,” he said.
In fact, without the cap on increases, actuaries said the total contribution rate next year would be higher — 30.11 percent instead of 28 percent — to amortize the system’s liabilities over 30 years.
Teachers in the system do not pay Social Security taxes or draw Social Security benefits. The system covers most community colleges and all school districts except the St. Louis and Kansas City districts. About 80,000 working educators and 40,000 retirees are part of the system.
If slavery is forcing people to work without compensation, then is paying half of your income in taxes and forced “contributions” semi-slavery?
Well, let’s see, if 14% of my income saved every year gets me a guarunteed 80% of my income with COLA when I retire. SIGN ME UP!!
Let us hope the public option for medical care will cover the most important liability of the educators pension system.
FOOLS!!!!
The damn pension system is broken. Fools like volunteer2uch apparently don’t know how to do math.
How much are current retirees being asked to sacrifice in this difficult time? Why is it that it’s the teacher and the taxpayer that is required to pick up the burden of a sufferring pension system?
Here is a hint: If individual teachers were allowed to invest 28% of their salary in individual accounts, they should completely blow the the pension system away and retire after 30-35 years with a million or two in retirement accounts.
The pension system, like Social Security, is a Ponzi Scheme, taking money from new payers and giving it to old players. Unfortunately, the idiots in control never adjusted for longer life-spans that kill Ponzi Schemes such as SS and pensions.