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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

October Board News

The text below is reprinted from the news release by STRS on 10/18/2013. You'll note the pension funding ratio improved to 66% but is still well below where it needs to be even after strong recent market returns and pension changes. Teachers don't be surprised if additional future changes in the form of benefit reductions of some form are required.  --- Annual Actuarial Valuation Shows Improvement in STRS Ohio Funding; Consultant Provides Guidance on Funding Policy   At its October meeting, the State Teachers Retirement Board received a report of the annual pension valuation results from its actuarial consultant, Segal Consulting. The report provides a “snapshot” of the actuarial position of the retirement fund as of July 1, 2013. This is the first valuation completed using the new benefit structure resulting from the passage of pension reform legislation last fall. Segal’s report this year shows the funding period for the pension fund decrea...

November Board News

(The text below is reprinted from the news release by STRS on 11/18/11.) ORSC Chooses Pension Trustee Advisors to Review Pension Reform Plans At its Nov. 16 meeting, the Ohio Retirement Study Council (ORSC) heard presentations from three firms vying for the opportunity to advise the Council on the pension reform plans currently in pending legislation (S.B. 3 and H.B. 69). Following the presentations and question-and-answer sessions with each firm, the ORSC unanimously selected Pension Trustee Advisors (PTA) to conduct the review. The Council questioned whether the three senior principals proposed to lead the project would be sufficient to accomplish all of the work, but the firm addressed this concern to the satisfaction of Council members. The PTA partners said they have no ongoing long-term contracts and will be able to focus their work on the Ohio pension funds. They said they expect to be able to complete their work by July to meet the ORSC's timeline. PTA referred to prior...

STRS Ohio June Board News

Retirement Board Approves Health Care Premiums For 2018; Approximately 80% of Enrollees Will See No Premium Increase At the June meeting of the State Teachers Retirement Board, the board approved 2018 premiums for all plans offered through the STRS Ohio Health Care Program. A complete list of these premiums is posted on the system’s website , or can be obtained by calling STRS Ohio’s Member Services Center toll-free at 888‑227‑7877. Additional information about the 2018 Health Care Program will be provided in upcoming newsletters and on the STRS Ohio website. In late October, all plan enrollees will receive personalized health care plan information in preparation for the fall open-enrollment period that extends from Nov. 1‑21, 2017. When determining premiums, the Retirement Board and STRS Ohio staff consider the claims experience of plan enrollees, annual health care cost trend rates and administrative expenses for the program. Factors that proved favorable for 2018 rate setti...