Jim Stoll’s speech to STRS, April 15, 2010

Anatomy of a Pension Fund Disaster

September 30, 2008 STRS Board News

STRS Ohio Retirement Funds Remain Safe and Secure, Despite Market Turmoil.

"In other words, STRS Ohio has the liquidity needed to pay pension benefits when they are due near term, and the accumulated investment assets and income from employer and member contributions (future revenues) to allow us to continue to do so into the future."

October 23, 2008 STRS Board News

"Under my leadership, (Mike Nehf's) your management team is closely monitoring what is happening in the markets and is assessing both short and long term impacts."

Jim Stoll editorializes - (Did our management team know that we bought 143,000 shares of YRCW, a debt ridden company, for about 15 dollars per share and sold them a year later for about 90 cents per share, a loss of over 90% of our entire investment?)

How closely are you monitoring YOUR OVERPAID INVESTMENT STAFF?

After Losing Millions of Dollars by buying Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stock and selling those shares for pennies on the dollar - have we learned nothing of preventing catastrophic losses of our pension dollars…. Each and every investment should matter to us!!

August 24, 2009 STRS Board News

"It was reiterated that unless changes are made, STRS Ohio will eventually be UNABLE to pay future benefits." "As fiduciaries, the retirement board members and staff must make changes to help ensure long term solvency of the pension fund." "It was noted that the system cannot "invest" its way out of the problem."

Yet the STRS Board voted to approve 3.3 million in bonuses to investment staff, albeit to be paid at a later date……

STRS is still in discussions to continue paying bonuses and outrageous salaries even though they cannot pay their liabilities……

Question: What private company facing insolvency or bankruptcy could afford to continue down its same path? Answer: NONE!

(See attached Salary and Bonus Schedule for YOUR Retirement System which is telling you that they cannot Pay Your Future Benefits.) This is unbelievable.

October 16, 2009

"The PWC report confirmed the data shared much earlier in the year with the Retirement Board……" "Consequently, the system's unfunded liabilities are at infinity - meaning the system can NEVER pay off its liabilities unless changes are made."

The plan for changes calls for….. increase in contributions from members and employers, increasing FAS, changing benefit formula, reduce COLA, etc., etc.