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Ohio Retirement for Teachers Association

Fighting for Ohio's teachers since 1947!

ORTA advocates for the pensions and benefits of Ohio's active and retired educators; demands accountability from the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio; and lobbies Ohio's legislators to provide a strong and sustainable retirement system for all Ohio educators, Pre-K through higher education. We rely on membership dues to continue our work.

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Featured Post!

Radical overhaul of the STRS Ohio Retirement Board

Despite a weekend-long email and telephone campaign from Ohio teachers and retirees, Gov. Mike DeWine let stand an overhaul of the State Teachers Retirement System Board.

 

"They built the pension through their hard work and their money, and they live off the pension and how well it does for the rest of their lives, so having them have a majority stake in that board makes sense." - David Pepper

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Senate Bill 69 - Legislators, Pay Attention!

It’s time to take action for Ohio’s teachers and Ohio’s economy. It’s time to care and do what is right. 

 

This letter addresses Senate Bill 69, sponsored by Senator Mark Romanchuk, Chairman of the Ohio Retirement Study Council (ORSC). The bill states, “To declare the General Assembly's intent to enact legislation to reform the law governing the state's public retirement systems.” The bill currently appears to be placeholder legislation. The Ohio Retirement for Teachers Association has a singular suggestion for legislation. This singular suggestion is predicated on the ORSC supporting the suggestions in Ohio Auditor Keith Faber’s report, released on December 29, 2022. Specifically, pension investments need to have more transparency. Non-disclosure agreements should be addressed by “removing trade secret provisions that shield investment decisions from further scrutiny.” Additionally, Auditor Faber stated, “That means fully disclosing how these funds are being invested and the returns or losses on those investments.” These obvious suggestions should be applied to Ohio’s five pension plans.

 

The STRS pension system pays out approximately $7.6 billion in benefits. Approximately half of these benefits are funded by Employee and Employer Contributions; investment returns must make up the other half. A pension plan depending on annual investment returns of $3.8 billion is risky and jeopardizes the long-term health of the pension system. This gap between known revenue and known expenses drastically impacts the ability to pay basic elements of a public pension system, such as cost-of-living adjustments. 

 

In 2012, after a market downturn, legislation was submitted to the ORSC to reduce benefits promised to members. These reduced benefits were intended to save the pension $11 billion. Included in this legislation was a 40% increase in the employee contribution. An increase in the employer contribution was initially part of the plan, but in the end, the employer contribution was withdrawn and an additional 2% contribution was added to the employee contribution. It is worth mentioning that the employer contribution has not increased in 41 years. These four decades of stagnant employer contributions create a conflict with Ohio laws. In a defined benefit plan, Ohio collects monies from members and invests them for their future, and they are supposed to assume all the risks. The financial shortfalls are supposed to fall on the employer, not the employee. This is addressed in Ohio’s codes, see ORC 3307.14(E)

 

Currently, STRS retirees are not promised inflation protection. They cannot sacrifice anything more to help the pension’s cash flow problem. The problem is obvious. Ohio is not responsibly funding the STRS pension system. Boston College highlighted this problem in their public pension research when they identified Ohio STRS as the only pension plan in the United States with a negative Normal Cost. In other non-Social Security States, the Employer Contribution rate averages 30%, while in Ohio, it is frozen at 14%. 

 

The ORSC always gives the STRS investment staff accolades for being in the top percentile of investment performance. However, the staff is always under scrutiny from members and the press due to being the outliner and not even being able to pay retirees a simple 2% COLA that was reduced 13 years ago from a simple 3% COLA. A significant problem is that the State underfunds the STRS pension.

 

STRS consultants Meketa and Global Governance Advisors have publicly stated STRS’s biggest problem is not a performance problem but a legislative one. Crowe, STRS’s independent auditor consultant, suggests the pension funds status is vulnerable due to market fluctuations and “a fixed employer contribution rate at the statutory maximum.” Outside sources share with members and staff that STRS Ohio might be the only pension system they know that doesn’t have a variable employer contribution rate and is drastically underfunded. The problem is obvious. In non-Social Security states where retirees rely upon the State to provide a COLA, Ohio’s employer contribution rate lags by 100%. 

 

Ohio’s fiscal budget is being addressed. Legislators should address this ongoing problem that has been creating negative news stories for over a decade. The public will be watching. STRS Ohio members number more than half a million, many millions if you include family members. Legislators need to know that any employer contribution rate will return money to Ohio’s economy and improve it. It’s time to take action for Ohio’s teachers and Ohio’s economy. It’s time to care and do what is right. 

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Dean Dennis, Chair
ORTA Executive Committee

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Did you know?
Passport Unlimited savings are included in
your ORTA membership!
  • As a member of ORTA, you have access to exceptional savings through Passport Unlimited. 

  • Passport offers savings at Sam's Club, Kohls, Apple, and hundreds of other retailers and services.

  • You'll receive email updates about new savings in dining, travel, and shopping.​

Recent posts
Educators Professional Liability Insurance

Protect your reputation and your career today with professional liability coverage.

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Become a member of ORTA and qualify for the new Educators Professional Liability Policy provided through our trusted benefits partner, AMBA.

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Visit AMBA Benefits and apply online today.

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Chapter scholarships

Chapter Grants & Scholaships

Many ORTA chapters offer classroom grants, continuing education scholarships, and scholarships for graduating seniors.

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Use the list of ORTA Chapters to find out if your local chapter offers grants and scholarships.

Classroom grants
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Both acting head and CIO of Ohio retired teachers’ pension fund resign amid controversy
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ORTA Video Library

STRS Ohio Board member Rudy Fichtenbaum, and former Board member Wade Steen, are incurring legal fees, defending themselves against the lawsuit brought against them by A.G. Dave Yost. ORTA will use donations from the Pension Defense Fund to help them pay their legal expenses. They have volunteered their time to support Ohio's teachers. Now it's time for us to show our support for them! Make a donation today to the ORTA Pension Defense Fund

Contact Us

250 E. Wilson Bridge Road

Suite 150

Worthington, Ohio 43085

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​Phone: 614-431-7002

Email: publications@orta.org

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