State Teachers Retirement System drama an insult to members

Letters to the editor
May 15, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Dr. Rudy Fichtenbaum was elected as new board chair at STRS board meeting. The State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio, the state's second largest public pension fund, oversees about $90 billion invested on behalf of 500,000 teachers and retirees. Its 11-member board has been infighting over the direction and governance of the system.

STRS adding insult to injury

Once again, there is drama and apparent mismanagement going on at the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio.

Despite runaway inflation, many retired teachers have not received a cost-of-living allowance in their benefits for five years, even though the police and fire pension system somehow found a way each year to give their retirees a needed and well-deserved adjustment.

Is their system better managed or is our teachers’ 35 years of service not equally valued?

Adding insult to injury, teachers, especially beginning teachers and those teaching in rural districts, who often worked second and third jobs in order to afford to educate children, find their contributions to Social Security forfeited, as the Windfall Elimination Provision nearly wipes outs any benefits.

Can someone please explain why retired teachers don’t need or deserve a raise?

James Slone, London

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio pension system drama adding insult to teachers' injury

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