There is some big legislation pending regarding the Texas Teacher Retirement System. Below is the letter I just sent to my state senator. Fellow Texas educators, have you been following this legislation? If not, you should be, and you should be making your voice heard! A very good update can be found here: http://tcta.org/node/13403. Find out who represents you and follow links to their web pages where you can email them. Phone calls are important, too!
Dear Senator Schwertner,
As your constituent in Senate District 5, I am writing to
ask you to vote NO on SB 1458 as currently written. If passed in its current
form, approximately 50% of current Teacher Retirement System members will have an
average of 10 years added to the years of service required before they become
eligible for full retirement.
I am proud to have served the children of Texas for the past
20 years and look forward to serving them for many more. I appreciate the
legislature’s work to ensure the actuarial soundness of TRS, but believe the state
should not change retirement eligibility for veteran educators like myself. Although
many TRS members choose to work past the age of minimum retirement, we should
still have the option to retire with full benefits after reaching the “Rule of
80”, in which our age plus years of service adds up to 80, instead of having to
wait until we are 62 years old. The “Rule
of 80” has applied to us for most of our professional careers, and this rule should
not be changed on us mid-stream. It is my understanding that in the private
sector, a change such as this would be illegal. Although legal in the public
sector, I believe it would be unethical.
I understand that one of the goals for increasing the
actuarial soundness of TRS is to give a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) to
currently retired teachers because a COLA has not been given in over ten years.
I also understand that the COLA provided for if this bill were to pass is not
guaranteed, and it would be a maximum of $100 per month only for members who
retired in 1994 or earlier. That seems like a very small benefit to a small
percentage of retirees in exchange for the substantial change in active members’
retirement eligibility requirements that will take place if this bill passes in
its current form.
Please work with Senator Duncan to improve SB 1458. If
necessary, raise the retirement age for members entering the system from Fall
2013 forward. I would also advocate for an increase in active members’
contribution percentage to improve the soundness of TRS.
As I ask for your help in improving SB 1458, I also want to ask
you to support HB 1383 if it comes to a vote in the Senate. HB 1383 will raise
the state contribution to TRS to 6.9% in FY 2014 and 7.4% in FY 2015 and has
the support of over 100 representatives at this time. This is the type of
measure which demonstrates that Texas values its education system and the
dedicated professionals who are investing in Texas’s future every school day.
I would also ask you to support HB 103 if it comes to a vote
in the Senate. This bill will authorize a one-time supplemental payment to
current retired teachers. This also would demonstrate that our state values the
men and women who faithfully educated generations of Texans.
I appreciate the positive education changes you and our
legislature are working toward during this session, and thank you for taking
time to consider my concerns for the future of the Teacher Retirement System
and its members.
