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The Beginnings of Ohio Faculty Advisor

My name is Kevin Kroskey, and this is my first foray into blogging. I am a Registered Investment Advisor with a fee-only financial planning firm, which I own, called True Wealth Design. I also am a part-time instructor at Tri-C Corporate College near Cleveland where I teach Retirement Planning to financial professionals who are seeking their Certified Financial Planner(r) certification. Through my role and compensation as instructor I too am a participant in State Teacher's Retirement System (STRS). In my practice I work with several faculty members who are also participants in STRS as well as their families.

Through my related experiences as both a participant and practitioner I am confident that I can provide quality information to other faculty members on both the opportunties as well as the challenges they face in navigating their unique financial planning needs. And in my experience this is sorely needed. Thus the creation of this blog.

Some of the topics I intend to write about include:
  • Current issues facing STRS and it's participants
  • Optimizing benefits through STRS and other retirement plans available to faculty members
  • Choosing STRS pension options
  • The little known Ohio Deferred Compensation Plan (457 Plan)
  • Exhorbitant investment costs typically associated with 403(b) programs
Now since the content of this blog is solely educational in nature and not specific to any reader's situation, the standard disclaimers apply. In fact I will make a separate "DISCLAIMER" post just to be clear.

I truly look forward to having some fun in sharing my knowledge and creating a niche community for faculty members that have some commonality. Collectively I hope we can better teach the teachers about their financial planning! Your comments and questions are always welcome.

To Your Prosperity ~ Kevin Kroskey

Popular posts from this blog

March Board News

(The text below is reprinted from the news release by STRS)   Solvency Period for Health Care Fund Drops to 15 Years; Board Exploring Options to Preserve Plan   At the March meeting of the State Teachers Retirement Board, Paul Snyder, deputy executive director — Finance and chief financial officer, presented results of Segal Consulting’s annual actuarial valuation of the Health Care Fund. The report shows the funded ratio for the Health Care Fund dropped to 63% from 74% last year. This means STRS Ohio has 63 cents on hand for every dollar needed to continue the current plan indefinitely. The valuation projects the Health Care Fund to remain solvent until 2031, a decrease of four years from last year’s valuation — and a decrease of 33 years from the 2014 valuation. The projected 15-year solvency period is an estimate ­— in actuarial terms, there is a 50% confidence level that the Health Care Fund has at least 15 years of solvency. Depending on the strength of financial markets,

May Board News

(The text below is reprinted from the news release by STRS on 5/18/12.) Ohio Senate Passes Pension Reform Legislation; STRS Ohio Hopeful That House of Representatives Will Take Action Executive Director Michael Nehf reported at the May Retirement Board meeting that the Ohio Senate passed STRS Ohio’s long-awaited pension reform bill (Sub. Senate Bill 342) on May 16 by a 31–2 vote, paving the way for the House to hopefully take similar action yet this year. Retirement Board Chair Jim McGreevy expressed appreciation to the Senate and to the bill’s co-sponsors, Senate President Tom Niehaus (R-New Richmond) and Senate Minority Leader Eric Kearney (D-Cincinnati) for taking action on pension reform. McGreevy also complimented STRS Ohio stakeholders for their work in support of the bill. On May 8, the co-sponsors introduced four pension reform bills that were assigned to the Senate Insurance, Commerce and Labor Committee. In testimony that afternoon, Nehf told Committee members that the

April Board News

(The text below is reprinted from the news release by STRS on 4/20/12.) Retirement Board Amends Plan to Strengthen the Financial Condition of the Pension Fund; Pension Design and Contribution Changes Approved The State Teachers Retirement Board voted to amend its plan to further strengthen the financial condition of the pension fund at its April meeting and hopes to see legislative action on its pension reform plan in the coming months. The board’s plan is projected to save about $13.3 billion in accrued liabilities, maintains a 1% employer contribution to STRS Ohio’s health care fund and does not include any increase in employer contributions. The board vote followed several months of discussion and study — including conducting an asset-liability study and a three-year actuarial experience review. All changes contained in the plan require legislative action by the Ohio General Assembly and the governor to be implemented. Components of the plan include: ·          Increase in