RH Jones to actives: You need to know the score with STRS: the STAFF is reaping the rewards, NOT the beneficiaries

From RH Jones, March 15, 2009
Subject: Fw: Investment Balance Feb.28th

To all actives:

Most likely, all of you enjoy the benefit of dental care(DC). Do you realize that after you retiree you get NO DC benefit? Sure, you can purchase it, but a heavy price. Like in my case, my spouse who depends on me is having $4,000 worth of dental work done; and, my dentist just informed me that I have to have $3,000 worth of work done -- a total of $7,000 out of my pension check! And, on top of that, my wife has to have eye care (EC) costing $3,000! Not counting all the other medical bills, that's $10,000 in one year!

Before I retired, I had both DC & EC insurance, so I had both of our teeth and eyes treated just before retirement. BUT, it does not take long and one needs care again. AND, you are on your own to provide the ever increasing costs of ALL health care (HC). Next year, I am required to pay ALL of my spouses HC, including DC & EC. When I retired, I was promised Ohio STRS HC but not DC, or EC. I am not crying; I am a teacher and feel a need to let my brother and sister teachers "know the score" before retiring. If our STRS board does not get it better, you too will be shorted.

As you contemplate your retirement, just remember that in a few years into it, you will need an ad hoc raise from the legislature. Presently, it has been a long time since retired educators have received one. And, be informed that, it is an extremely hard political fight to get one; the little 3% simple COLA helps; but, also, remember that it does not compound, as your active teaching pay now does. Your retiree purchasing power will go down with each passing year.

Perhaps, this is the reasoning behind the "powers to be" who pull the strings of our legislators: I wonder, could it be that the legislators and STRS leaders pay into OPERS for their retirement? It is, therefore, in the best interest of the STRS employees to get as much money as possible out of the STRS funds, while at the same time working to keep retired member benefits low.

They would also benefit by you having to work longer. You, therefore, pay more into the STRS, and are less likely to live long enough to use it up. However, in the final analysis, our STRS boards in the last few years has made the hurt for both actives and retired teachers possible. They "hold the purse strings of the STRS funds." The STRS staff is reaping the rewards; we are not. You have to accept more responsibility for your STRS now; and,also, you will in your future. Because of the shortcomings of the present STRS system, you will not be retired unless you can acquire full HC, DC, EC and bi-annual compounded COLAs.

This is as I see it,
RHJones, retired teacher