"Double-Dipping" for Retired and Re-employed Public Employees On Chopping Block

(FROM the SERS newsletter)

On December 1, 2011, Rep. Rex Damschroder of Fremont introduced H.B. 388, which proposes suspending the retirement benefit of public retirement system retirees who return to public employment.

The intent of the bill was to address so-called "double-dipping," the term used when public employees retire, begin receiving a pension, and then return to public employment to collect both a pension and a paycheck.

The bill proposes deferring a reemployed retiree's pension into an account maintained by the retirement system during the time the person is reemployed. This would prevent a reemployed retiree from receiving a pension and a paycheck at the same time. Once the person retires from public service, the deferred pension money that accumulates in the account while the person was reemployed would be refunded either as a lump sum or monthly annuity.

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...

STRS Ohio February Board News

Board Reviews Recommendations From Experience Study, Weighs Impact on Financial Condition At the February meeting of the State Teachers Retirement Board, staff summarized the results of the experience study recently completed by the board’s actuarial consultant, Segal Consulting. An experience study is completed every five years to help the system make accurate economic and demographic assumptions used to measure the financial condition of the pension fund. The economic assumptions include the rates of inflation, salary increases, overall payroll growth and the investment return on assets. Demographic assumptions include the number of retirements, disability inceptions, withdrawals from the system and deaths among active members and benefit recipients. The results of the study showed that STRS Ohio should consider adjustments in several key areas that will have an overall negative impact on the system’s funding status. Segal’s recommendations included: lowering STRS Ohio’s...

Comments on Proposed Changes to State Teacher's Retirement System

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...

Kevin Kroskey's Ohio Faculty Advisor