Cliff, as my Representative I have a few questions for you......

From John Curry, August 17, 2010
I wrote my letter to my Representative, I ask my fellow retirees to do the same.

John

Representative Cliff Hite
District 76, Ohio House of Representatives

Honorable Cliff Hite,

As my Representative, and fellow STRS retiree, I have three questions for you concerning the future of "our" retirement system. I will gladly share your replies to these questions with thousands of our fellow STRS retirees.

Should you decide not to answer one or more of these questions....I will also relate that to thousands of our fellow STRS retirees, many of whom live in your district.

Thank you for your attention to this email.

John Curry Wapakoneta

P.S. A "snail mail" copy of this email will also be mailed today just in case this email doesn't reach you.

Here are the questions:
1. The Defined Benefit Pension Plan has been proven to be the most cost effective retirement plan for both the State and its retirees (www.nirsonline.org, “More Bang for the Buck”). The STRS Defined Plan is really deferred compensation earned as part of an educator’s salary during their career. Will you support the continuation of the Defined Benefit plans in any legislation to “fix” public pensions?

2. The Ohio Revised Code, Section 3307.67 guarantees the payment of a simple 3 % Cost of Living Allowance, COLA, for current STRS retirees. In view of this fact most other states have grandfathered current retirees from the financial harm of COLA reductions. Will you support the COLA promise by grandfathering current retirees’ 3 % COLA? (States that have not kept the COLA promise are now in litigation).

3. All the financial changes by STRS to date have been directed at the current retirees and these changes happened almost over night. Would you support the phasing out of the current enhanced STRS pension for 35 years of service (the 88% rule) in 2012 and not 2015 as the STRS plan calls for? This would save money and make changes more fair for current retirees with much lower pensions and already reduced benefits. A higher percentage of the STRS proposed plan are aimed at current retirees who don’t have time to plan for such changes in their 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. Time is not on their side.