Kevin Kroskey's Ohio Faculty Advisor

In support of Financial Planning Week which runs from October 5-11, 2009, the Financial Planning Association of Northeastern Ohio is pleased to announce a public showing of the movie I.O.U.S.A. ( http://www.iousathemovie.com/ ) at the Cedar Lee Theater in Cleveland Heights, OH. One of the missions of the FPA is to raise awareness about the the importance of personal financial planning and offer guidance in making financial decisions. As a Board Member of the association I support and encourage this pro bono event in our community. Tuesday, October 6, 2009 at 7pm Free Admission (with a suggested donation of $3 to go towards Cleveland Saves) Cedar Lee Theater 2163 Lee Road Cleveland Hts., Ohio 44118 Seating is limited, so please register at http://tinyurl.com/ydq99lh . (You must register to attend.) Although the movie is free, there is a suggested donation which will go towards Cleveland Saves, a local non-profit that encourages individuals and families to save money so that they can bui...

(The text below is a copy of the release from STRS made 09/21/2009) Last week, the State Teachers Retirement Board held its monthly meeting. Following the regularly scheduled meetings, a report titled "Board News" is posted on the STRS Ohio Web site, as well as mailed to a number of members and education organization representatives who have requested it. As a member of STRS Ohio with an e-mail address on file, you will also receive this report each month. The September report follows. SEPTEMBER BOARD NEWS OHIO'S FIVE PENSION SYSTEMS PRESENT THEIR PLANS TO THE ORSC On Sept. 9, all five Ohio public pension systems - STRS Ohio, Ohio Public Employees Retirement System, School Employees Retirement System, Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund and the Highway Patrol Retirement System - presented their plans for achieving or maintaining a 30-year funding period to the Ohio Retirement Study Council (ORSC). This council serves as the legislative oversight body for the five systems....

As seen from the full post of the STRS announcement , STRS finally came out with their proposed changes to the pension plan. These changes will be presented to the Ohio Retirement Study Council next week in conjunction with the other state pension systems for public employees. These other state pension systems face similar issues as STRS and change within these other pension systems is likely not far behind. It's important to note that state law must actually be changed before these proposed changes can actually be put into force, so there is still considerable length to this process of change. Change in some form is eminent. Private, non-government pension systems have been vanishing over the last decades because in part because as our life expectancy has continually increased over time, the pensions have had to be paid longer than expected. Pensions put an open-ended liability on the shoulders of the private companies and these pensions and healthcare benefits provided to both e...

(The text below is a copy of the release from STRS made 09/01/2009) Today, the State Teachers Retirement Board held a special meeting. Following board meetings, a report titled "Board News" is posted on the STRS Ohio Web site, as well as mailed to a number of members and education organization representatives who have requested it. As a member of STRS Ohio with an e-mail address on file, you will also receive this report whenever it is issued. RETIREMENT BOARD ADOPTS PLAN FOR PENSION DESIGN AND CONTRIBUTION CHANGES Following many months of discussion and after receiving significant input from STRS Ohio members, the State Teachers Retirement Board unanimously approved a multifaceted plan today to strengthen the financial condition of the retirement system. In approving the plan, board members cited the difficulty in making the decision, noting that these changes impact all STRS Ohio members. The plan includes an increase in contributions; an increase in final average salary ye...