Colleen Marshall Investigates: Ohio lawmakers consider change to teacher pension fund (Part 1)

Ohio lawmakers are considering a sweeping change to the make up of Ohio’s teacher pension fund that could force retirees and teachers off their own board.

By Colleen Marshall May 29, 2025

Ohio lawmakers are considering a sweeping change to the make up of Ohio’s teacher pension fund that could force retirees and teachers off their own board.

The State’s Teachers Retirement System (STRS) has been embroiled in controversy of late, with retirees saying they’ve been denied promised cost of living increases while investment staff gets bonuses despite losing billions of dollars.

Currently, a legislative subcommittee is reviewing pension boards around the country that could possibly change who sits on the STRS board. Over the past few years, teachers and retirees have worked to get “reformers” elected to the board. These reformers won a majority of the seats of the 11-member board but retirees said multiple Ohio government officials are working to strip their power away.

“Everybody gets rich at STRS, our consultants get rich. Our investors get rich, our STRS management get rich,” said Robin Rayfield, the CEO of the Ohio Retirement for Teachers Association. “The only people who don’t get rich are the people who put the money in, and that is the teachers.”

A manual outlining benefits was given to tens of thousands of Ohio teachers when they were hired, which says they are promised pension with a cost of living increase of 3% annually. Nearly a decade ago, STRS took that away and since 2020, retirees said they have lost 23% of their buying power.

“So we have teachers that are, you know, trying to live on 40, $50,000 I mean, they have roofs on their house that need to be replaced. They need to buy cars. I mean, how do you have an investment like that?” said Dean Dennis of a retiree watchdog group.

This watchdog group has worked to get reformers elected that demand investment transparency and an end to lavish bonuses for investment staff members. Some of these bonuses are as high as $300,000. The group said they are receiving push back, first from Gov. Mike DeWine.

A board member Wade Steen was previously kicked from the board by Gov. DeWine, before appointing G. Brent Bishop to replace him. But at the beginning of 2024, an appeals court determined DeWine overstepped his authority in removing Steen from the position.

The governor called for an investigation into the board, claiming there is a hostile takeover by private interests at STRS. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost obliged, and called for the removal of Steen and Rudy Fichtenbaum from the board in May of 2024.

Retirees said Steen and Fichtenbaum were targeted because they backed reform. “The people that we have elected want the most basic, simple things. They want transparency and accountability,” said Dennis. “That’s all we’re looking for, because without accountability and transparency, you can’t fix a broken pension system.”

The Republican controlled Ohio Retirement Study Council is looking into changes to the make-up of the board. Rep. Sean Brennan (D-Parma), a retired teacher, serves on the bipartisan legislative subcommittee and is keeping an open mind. “I’ve always believed in looking for best practices,” said Brennan.

“So if there is something that we could be doing in Ohio that’s better than what we’re doing now, then why not take a look at it? And as retirees, we paid in and have very much a vested interest in the future of thesystem. And I think we we are required to have a voice, and entitled to a voice.”

Read the article online at https://www.nbc4i.com/news/investigates/ohio-lawmakers-reviewing-make-up-of-strs-board-that-could-force-changes/

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