As we enter the middle part of the year, more and more of you are headed for your local chapter meetings again.  We are also aware of the planning going on for the five regional meetings to be held this late summer and fall.  It feels good to be able to get out and see friends and former colleagues again.  At our recent Fairfield County luncheon, the mood was festive and lively with preparations for activities in the months to come–it felt familiar and comforting to be making those plans.  I hope that you are also feeling familiarity in the activities you are able to do. 

This year ORTA celebrates 75 years of existence.  The organization is planning a gathering in October to commemorate the anniversary, and you are invited!  The details of the gathering are elsewhere in this newsletter.  We hope to have as many members as want to come join us.  We are planning to have a couple folks give short remarks and just get to know each other better.  We hope you will consider coming to be a part of the celebration in October!

Stay cool my friends!

Kara Mendenhall

Executive Director Neville was asked a few questions from board member Hunt that were clearly intended to give Mr. Neville an opportunity to state that such a claim is patently false. As one person that has made claims that STRS members are only receiving .77 cents per dollar contributed I feel compelled to clarify my statements. You may have heard statements from me such as:

• Members contribute 14% of salary but only receive a benefit of 10.8% as described by the normal cost. If you do the math 10.8 divided by 14 is .77. I have been told by people that tout STRS’s excellence in investing that it is ‘wrong’ to do the math the way I have done. Normal cost is a pension term that is calculated by the system and their highly paid consultants. My understanding of the term normal cost is the ‘value of contributions earned in a year’. So, if I put in 14% of my pay and my value of benefit earned is 10.8%, my contribution was greater than my value accrued.  The 10.8% normal cost figure comes from STRS and was the level of benefits earned in the 2020 fiscal year. In the last fiscal year the normal cost was 12.2%. Better, but not equal to the contribution rate.
• Sticking with the normal cost thoughts… My understanding is whenever the normal cost is less than the contribution rate, the members are receiving less benefit earned than the contributions they are making. Since STRS is the only pension system with a negative normal cost, the statement ‘STRS members have the worst deal in America’ seems to fit. Certainly, this is an opinion statement. Some people may actually prefer paying more and getting less. I don’t know why someone would want that arrangement, but I will accept that someone may feel that way.

I want to apologize if my .77 cents on the dollar created confusion or caused undue stress on ORTA members. That was not my intention. My intent was to inform people that, despite the claims that STRS makes about its top tier performance and its awards for transparency, our pension system is in desperate need of reform. The trustees on board are not capable of leading the necessary reform. That is why ORTA endorsed three challengers. We are optimistic that the new members can bring about a cultural change at STRS. 

ORTA Celebrates 75 Years!

On October 12, 2022, ORTA will celebrate 75 years of advocacy! All ORTA members are invited to attend our celebration. Each chapter president will receive a letter from ORTA with details. All ORTA members are invited. If you want to come and don’t receive details from your chapter leaders, simply call ORTA at 614-431-7002.

AMBA News

Our partner, Association Members Benefits Advisors (AMBA) is offering webinars exploring the vast array of products that they offer exclusively to ORTA members. These webinars are free to attend and a great deal of information is presented. All webinars will begin at 9:00 AM and they are held on the following dates: July 19, 2022 and August 16, 2022. Invite any of your non ORTA friend to participate in the webinars. Register for these free webinars here:   https://ambabenefits.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_rCXvJAHpTeSv5IcFJL85FQ

Scams on the Increase

ORTA has received a few calls from members reporting fishing attempts on email and on Facebook. These scams are pretending to be someone from an ORTA local chapter asking the recipient to purchase gift cards. ORTA is not asking any members to purchase gift cards. Please be very careful with such requests and do not send any money to a person unless you have talked directly to them.

New AMBA Webinar Series

Association Member Benefits Advisors (AMBA) is proud to announce the upcoming series of educational seminars for Ohio Retired Teachers Association. ORTA partners with AMBA as the endorsed benefits advisors for members. These short webinars provide valuable resources and information about important topics like Long Term Care, Medicare, Medical Transportation and more. The talks are educational and informative: retirees often tell us they are thankful for the overview and knowledge they gain. ORTA Executive Director Robin Rayfield will also be giving a brief ORTA update at each webinar. This is a great way to introduce your local members to the issues impacting them at the state level.

July 19- 9 a.m. Medicare 101 - Understanding Changes and Potential Pitfalls

The alphabet soup of Medicare can be confusing, but it doesn't have to be. In this webinar, we'll discuss what Medicare is, help you understand all of the parts, and then identify the major gaps you will have. This webinar is for both those individuals who are not yet Medicare eligible and for those who are already Medicare participants. Additionally, we'll spend time covering the changes for the new year. Register here: https://ambabenefits.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_xsxi_ztZStOKa-ss51EJJQ 

August 16- 9 a.m. MASA - Medical Transportation can take you for a ride

Ohio residents pay way too much for ground and air ambulance transportation costs in the state. But isn't that covered under our health insurance? Often times, individuals find that their out-of-pocket costs are greater than they ever expected. Now that folks are starting to travel again, what is covered or costly if medical transportation is needed for you, your spouse, pets, grandkids, or vehicle to return home? Join us on this webinar to find out what the current issues are in Ohio, where the Tier 1 Hospitals are and how your Association is stepping up to protect the financial health of their members. Register here: https://ambabenefits.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN__1YqAvWqQJmI4Nq6Q4G12Q

After registration is complete, you will receive a confirmation email with coordinates to join the webinar and a reminder.  

Lake County Scholarship Winners

The Lake County Retired Teachers Association is proud to announce the 2022 recipients of three $1,100 college scholarships to aid three students in their pursuit of an education degree. The students are: Monica Kline, who graduates from Perry High School and will be attending The Ohio State University; Paige Veselko, who graduates from Riverside High School and will be attending The Ohio State University; and Madelynn Stevenson, who graduates from Perry High School and will be attending Hiram College. We wish all of them good luck and can’t wait to see the teachers they become!

The Lake County Retired Teachers Association Scholarship Committee is under the leadership of Chairman Tim Niederkorn and is comprised of committee members Dona Fatibeno Singerman, Connie Irvin, Lynda Krstolic, Beverly Lee, Jane Pastor and Cathy Trepal. They received applications from high school seniors who are interested in pursuing a college degree in education. After the candidates were interviewed the committee selected three students to receive scholarships for the 2021-2022 school year.

Hardin County Scholarship Winners

Part-Time Session Facilitator for School-Based Research 

HIGH SCHOOL AND BEYOND (HS&B): Part-time work paying $20-$22 per hour!   

RTI International, is seeking part-time employees to administer a school-based computerized assessment for the High School and Beyond study (HS&B). This important research study is sponsored by the by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) within the US Department of Education. HS&B provides reliable data on student achievement as students begin their high school education.  

Candidates with previous classroom, school, teaching, and/or field interviewing experience are preferred. This position is scheduled to begin with training over four days the first week of August 2022 and will offer approximately 5-20 hours per week from August, 2022 through January, 2023 depending on assignment.

Interested candidates should apply at Careers | RTI (https://www.rti.org/careers).

***More information on the responsibilities and qualifications of this position can be viewed by clicking the "Read More" button below***

In Memoriam

ORTA mourns the passing of our members: