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Pennsylvania’s Exploding Teachers’ Pension Crisis

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posted on Sep, 1 2014 @ 06:47 PM
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So I recently went on a date with someone ( i know, i know ) who works in the education system. During our date we talked about the pay and pensions of teachers and she said the state of PA is about to get rid of the pension fund. I was a little caught off guard i havent heard anything about this or really read about it on ATS.

So anyway i went digging a little and couldnt find any real valid sources but i did find this.

SOURCE...

So first let me comment on the fact that she has a masters degree that she wishes she never got and still owes 25,000 on. She said her take home at the end of the year after everything is said and done with taxes and pension and union dues is 25k.

WTF!??? THATS IT?




Based on a 17-year amortization rate, Pennsylvania taxpayers will have to shell out an additional $2.1 billion a year, 90 percent more than the $2.4 billion in contributions made in 2013. The Keystone State government’s plan to contribute an additional $600 million into the pension this year will do nothing to address the shortfall.


Let me remind you we have one of the most corrupt states in the union. I'm not kidding, there is Mafia ties everywhere around here and the FBI is always busting people. Hell, the Kids for Cash issue happened literally in my back yard.



As with other teachers’ pensions, addressing PSERS’ insolvency is critical for Pennsylvania largely because of the number of Baby Boomers retiring from the teaching ranks.




At some point, given the increasing liabilities, Pennsylvania will have to deal realistically with PSERS’ insolvency.


INSOLVENCY



These moves woud also be helpful to younger teachers who are often the ones who bear the brunt of most pension reform plans. Given that defined-benefit pensions such as PSERS already do little for younger teachers because half of them are likely to leave classrooms within five years (and thus, unlikely to fully vest in the plans), moving away from the current pension would actually make teaching more attractive, both to those already working in the profession as well as to talented collegians who would otherwise look to gigs in the private sector.


Why would the teachers want to work for minumum wage with no pension future and have expensive degrees to pay for? Can anyone blame them?


Lets talk more about the problems when what we need is ACTION. We need to convene. Lock the borders down and start over.
edit on 9/1/2014 by onequestion because: (no reason given)



posted on Sep, 1 2014 @ 06:54 PM
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a reply to: onequestion

I live in this state as well. My ex wife had a friend who was an art teacher and I was blown away when she said it was a requirement for her to continue to take college classes even after she got her degree! It was a requirement of the job!

Now let me also put a little salt in the wound. Remember how the steel workers were treated and how the state allowed their pensions to be either taken away or drastically reduced when the steel mills went belly up?

I do, because my father was one of them. I remember back then that the steel workers were begging for help and not a damn Republican nor Democrat came to their aid and neither did the other unions outside of the steel industry.

So in essence the writing was on the wall for everyone back then, but for those it didn't involve, they didn't care!

I bet they care now!!



posted on Sep, 1 2014 @ 06:58 PM
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a reply to: seeker1963

Its funny how the pensions go belly up right before they have to get paid out right?



posted on Sep, 1 2014 @ 07:00 PM
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originally posted by: onequestion
a reply to: seeker1963

Its funny how the pensions go belly up right before they have to get paid out right?


This go around we have Wall Street and the Bankers to thank for the pension fiascos! They gambled, lost, and then they got a bailout not the people who lost.

Nothing more than politics as usual.



posted on Sep, 1 2014 @ 07:02 PM
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a reply to: seeker1963

Armed resistance is coming, its an inevitable probability at this point.

The people in this country need a wake up call and its going to hurt when it comes.

Im ready mentally and physically, i hope everyone is as well.
edit on 9/1/2014 by onequestion because: (no reason given)



posted on Sep, 1 2014 @ 07:04 PM
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originally posted by: onequestion
a reply to: seeker1963

Armed resistance is coming, its an inevitable probability at this point.

The people in this country need a wake up call and its going to hurt when it comes.

Im ready mentally and physically, i hope everyone is as well.


Sadly, and I truly mean it, I agree with you.

The well is damn near dry and all they are doing is putting sand in it, versus trying to fill it up with some fresh H2O.



posted on Sep, 1 2014 @ 07:19 PM
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Longer lives after retirement

Paying them 1/2 to 3/4 the wage of the teachers who take their places.

Medical plans added (thank you unions)

Then the next thing you know is, your not making enough money to pay your current staff and the retirees at the same time.

So you take money from the teachers who are working and paying into the pension system to help make it work. But what happens is there is no returning that money back into the system for that teacher when they retire.

Solution, make each teacher do and maintain their own retirement/pension plan and don't rely on the state or Union to do it.

The States and Unions make bad investments with retirement funds from current and active teachers and well as retirees and the next thing you know it is an exploding crisis.


edit on 1-9-2014 by ChesterJohn because: (no reason given)



posted on Sep, 1 2014 @ 07:22 PM
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originally posted by: seeker1963

originally posted by: onequestion
a reply to: seeker1963

Its funny how the pensions go belly up right before they have to get paid out right?


This go around we have Wall Street and the Bankers to thank for the pension fiascos! They gambled, lost, and then they got a bailout not the people who lost.

Nothing more than politics as usual.


NO you have UNIONS to blame and they are in cahoots with the banks as well.

We have to take some of the fault and not just blame it on wall street banks and unions though.



posted on Sep, 1 2014 @ 07:30 PM
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a reply to: onequestion

Greetings- •••The following could be best construed as a 10 year retirement anniversary rant •••

Does Pennsylvania allow "double dipping"? If they do allow it, this is how a City Mgr. in a city w/a population of 50,000 ends up making $250k/yr. They'll "max out" their regular employment, switch their days off/vacation to "sick leave", get their vacation time paid off in cash, then show up for work after their 'retirement' (usually a week 2 at the most) they work the same job but their check is even MORE because none of the "working tax" is removed.

I'm retired from a Ca. police dep't. in a city that went bankrupt. The City Mgr. was making $318k/yr. to run the City further into the sewer. Although I broke My back/neck fighting the fraudulent 'war on drugs', I get $1207/mo. removed from My retirement check for "Health Insurance" which WAS included in My settlement.

The point is the whole lot are CORRUPT. ALL of "THEM". It used to be: There is no 'good' or 'bad' there just 'is'... Now it is "There is no 'good' or 'bad' they're just "THEM"...

And while I'm at it ... What's with ALL the military crap? When I worked or where I worked, at least "they" culled through and wouldn't allow guys that got beat up in High School or Vic Vendetta sure there were a few "screwballs" but when I do come across a cop video nowadays "something happened" ??

I would type "They" will investigate and find the guilty party... Yeah, that probably won't happen unless their pension is involved and then You'll get the "full works" ...

Now I read like My Dad.. "They're ALL CROOKED"!!!!

namaste



posted on Sep, 1 2014 @ 07:36 PM
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originally posted by: onequestion
a reply to: seeker1963

Its funny how the pensions go belly up right before they have to get paid out right?


Corruption as usual. Glad you pointed this aspect out.



posted on Sep, 1 2014 @ 07:48 PM
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I was a teacher for a few years, and this is how union members get raises. There are two ways - through years served and through advanced degrees. Those are the only two ways to get bumps on the pay scale as a teacher. You can also go into administration which is a whole other ball of wax.

And yes, you don't have to join the union, but if you want your legal protection ... you pretty much have to join one of the two on offer, so you do have dues to pay out of your pay.

As for public workers' pension funds being insolvent, this is the major elephant in the room. No matter what state you are in or what kind of public worker you are, this is the coming crisis. The pols and unions made promises that never materialized. The pension funds have all been based on annual percentage rates of return that are pie in the sky at best. So now, even with good management, those funds are all overdrawn because the promises were bad and the workers never paid in enough to keep them solvent or were allowed any autonomy in managing their funds.



posted on Sep, 1 2014 @ 07:57 PM
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a reply to: [pst=18362715]onequestion[/post]

I am a PA resident.
I have several relatives that are retired public school teachers.
I know one school administrator that retired ten years ago. He gets $145, 000 a year every year until he dies.
That isn't too bad.



posted on Sep, 1 2014 @ 08:34 PM
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a reply to: butcherguy

Yep, public workers can often retire early with very good pension pay outs, but the pension funds do not grow well enough to support those payouts. And, because they retire early, sometimes, employees can find ways of taking other public jobs and getting full salaries while receiving pension payouts from the jobs they retire from, and then, they get pension payouts from two different jobs when they actually leave the workforce which can drain the public pension fund twice over. I think it's called double dipping or something.

They can make ridiculous amounts of money.

Then, all they have to do is move somewhere with a lower cost of living than where they earned their pension bennies and they can live like kings.

The pension you listed isn't much in Pennsylvania ... but it goes a long, long way somewhere like Missouri or maybe Kansas.



posted on Sep, 1 2014 @ 08:35 PM
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a reply to: ketsuko

Its cheap to live here in PA too.

Dirt cheap, but the cities in this state are degrading into Detroit level chaos in some areas.



posted on Sep, 1 2014 @ 08:55 PM
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a reply to: onequestion

Well, I didn't know. I just know that my husband's company has a bunch of facilities back east. They had an employee who lost a child to Sandyhook, so there is one in that area.

One of the strategies employees routinely use is to get a job back east for a few years and then move back out here because once the company has bumped up your salary to east coast levels, they won't lower it when you move back out here to this cost of living. So, it gets much easier to save for retirement and you can live a much better lifestyle on a fatter salary if you're willing to suffer those few years of east coast privation.

In general things are much more expensive out east. It's not a dissimilar strategy to what people do with public funds except the company would go belly up if they couldn't support it.



posted on Sep, 1 2014 @ 09:01 PM
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I'm a pa resident ill be watching this not sure yet what to do about it. I really don't like public education as it is anyways.



posted on Sep, 1 2014 @ 09:23 PM
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Teachers like to complain about their pay so here's a link to their state by state pay scale.

www.washingtonpost.com...

You can decide if its to much, not enough or just right.

As for their pensions, those are under funded in many states.
Just wait until the shoe drops and watch them ask for the state or Feds to bail the fund out.



posted on Sep, 1 2014 @ 09:29 PM
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a reply to: Hoosierdaddy71

Are those medium salaries, takehome, net gross?

Id like to see more information about that.



posted on Sep, 1 2014 @ 09:41 PM
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a reply to: onequestion

That depends on your deductions.. I also gotta wonder when you went to college for a teaching degree, didn't they inquire about what could be expected for salary? Seems like a logical question. I know the pay increases every year you just have to hang in a few years.
Don't forget that they work 9 months a year to,
Your first year you get the summer off, prolly around 2+ months. two weeks at Christmas, a week at spring break. Very good insurance (indiana does anyway) and a nice pension.
What other job give you that kind of benefits on day one? Politician! Lol

All you have to do is figure out how not to kill the kids...not sure I could do it..

Indiana kids attend school 180 days a year. Take that from 365. Thats 185 days minus 104 weekend days. Equals 81 days off...
Now compare that to a typical factory job,,,
Still I would rather work in the factory.

edit on 1-9-2014 by Hoosierdaddy71 because: (no reason given)



posted on Sep, 1 2014 @ 09:50 PM
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a reply to: Hoosierdaddy71

Dont our teachers deserve it though?

Unlike politicians..

And we cant blame them for the system they work in and under.



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