So...what does the headstone really mean?

From John Curry, July 17, 2010

Note from John...what this means is that the recent Health and Pension Advocates "push" for the 2.5% school board and the 2.5% contribution from the active teacher has been trashed! That means that healthcare will not get a "shot in the arm," and will continue to be funded by a miserable 1% contribution of the school board's donation to STRS for every dollar they pay their teachers. 1% paid toward health for retirees is the lowest contribution paid by any of the 5 state retirement systems. Do you hear (in the terminology of a past Presidential candidate) a "giant sucking sound?" I do!
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It also means that now, STRS will be having to deal with how to adequately fund the healthcare stabilization fund BUT...AN EVEN BIGGER EVENT WILL CHALLENGE THEM EVEN MORE! WHAT IS THAT? WHY, HOW TO CONTINUE FUNDING OUR PENSIONS WITH A SLOW ECONOMY AND MASSIVE TEACHER LAYOFFS ACROSS THE BUCKEYE STATE! Can't you just see all those school boards across Ohio hopping on board to make sure that STRS gets this additional funding for our pension by urging their taxpayers to do it for the teachers? Am I being a little bit sarcastic? You bet but.....you do see the problem, don't you? Here, read it in Laura's words:

Laura Ecklar, an STRS spokeswoman, said the proposal developed before the Great Recession would have generated $500 million annually for the health fund. Ecklar said STRS has dropped that proposal. The new plan addresses only pensions. ''The board recognizes that a separate solution will be

needed for the health-care fund. In fact, this fall, the board will begin a strategic planning process to evaluate its options for the health-care fund,'' Ecklar said.

Ecklar acknowledged that delaying retirement eligibility would reduce health costs by shortening the time period before Medicare begins to provide coverage at age 65, but that's not good enough. ''Unfortunately, the health-care fund has only about 11 years of solvency left,'' she said. ''Changing the retirement age is not the solution to the health-care fund's solvency. Pension fund solvency and health-care fund solvency are two separate issues that will require different solutions.''