To be fair, they have already made changes on the backs of the newer teachers.
By “they” I mean the legislator’s and the deal making teacher’s union. About three years ago they unilaterally put in place new rules that now make it where newer teachers hired since 2009 who didn’t have pensions in-place yet get neither pensions or tenure until they have been employed by the system for TEN years.
The whole issue of tenure and its rules aside, it is hardly fair to have teacher’s whose pay and districts contribute to the funds (under funded although it may be) not have any pension until a ten year cliff funding deal is in place when it was a three year rule for some participation when they took their jobs.
A thirty-two year old teacher has to hopefully wait and just blindly trust that they will keep employment with the system for ten years or they get Nothing from the pension system if they loose their job at age 41 due to cut backs or illness.
I have a lot of problems with our public schooling system in general, a lot of problems with teachers’ unions and associations, but the individual teachers I know are like any job under government control — there are a decent percentage of good people that are getting shafted.
In these systems they have a certain amount of ability to savings systems, but since there is a pension system held out as the carrot there is no matching percentage like their is in private industry which has largely abandoned the Defined Benefit Pension program.
There may be states that have made no changes, but Michigan has done some changing and that has been done on the backs of every teacher that was not vested when they changed the rules a few years ago.
I have a better idea: Eradicate government pensions at all levels and let them save and invest for their own retirements like adults. Let the old grifters keep their ill gotten gains to buy off the unions, but nothing for new hires beyond the salary the market for their talents will bear.
Teachers with less than ten years don’t get “Nothing.” They are entitled to whatever contributions toward the pension system they made during their employment, and it likely accrues 6% interest for as long as it remains in the pension fund. Since retirement contributions are pre-tax they will likely be able to roll that money into an IRA at the end of their employment.
Teachers are also allowed to contribute pre-tax up to $17,500 or more per year to a tax deferred 457 plan, which can also be rolled over to an IRA at the end of their employment.
They have plenty of retirement planning options no matter how long they work as a teacher or how long it takes to vest in the main pension.