Kevin Kroskey's Ohio Faculty Advisor

(The text below is reprinted from the news release by STRS on 2/20/12.) Pension Legislation Could Move in Ohio Senate STRS Ohio's director of governmental relations Terri Bierdeman reported to the board that Ohio Senate leaders are open to moving pension legislation before its summer break. Senate leaders met with representatives from each of the five public pension systems separately to share this new development and to discuss how best to proceed. The legislators would like pension plan design changes to include a smoother transition to new retirement eligibility rules than what was originally proposed by the systems. Any change in this regard, along with any delay in STRS Ohio's proposed July 1, 2012, implementation date, would cause STRS Ohio's plan to fall outside the 30-year amortization period that has been considered a key element of the system's pension reform plan. The board may consider other benefit changes to balance this cost. The Senate leaders also ...

(The text below is reprinted from the news release by STRS on 1/23/12.) Callan Associates Updates Retirement Board on Asset-Liability Study At the January meeting of the State Teachers Retirement Board, the board's investment consultant, Callan Associates, provided additional research that the board requested in December as part of its asset-liability study. The study will help the board determine the optimal portfolio allocation for the system's assets. Last month, Callan presented five potential asset mixes for the board to review, along with the projected short- to medium-term rates of return for those mixes. At that time, the Retirement Board asked Callan to provide information on two additional asset mixes. The board will discuss these results further at its February meeting. The preliminary results of the asset-liability study showed that STRS Ohio's current investment policy target would be challenged to achieve an 8% return during the next five to 10 years; howeve...