Kathie Bracy to OEA-R president Bill Sears: When is OEA-R going to fight for retirees?

From Kathie Bracy, October 12, 2010

From: Kathie Bracy
To: wsears1109@aol.com
Sent: Tuesday, October 12, 2010 2:56 PM
Subject: Re: Urgent request--Contact STRS Board members

Mr. Sears:

I cannot believe you are supporting this proposal and actually urging retirees to support it! OEA-R and ORTA are playing right into the hands of OEA, whose mantra is "Hit those retirees again and again and again, but God forbid if you ask the active teachers to give up anything!" Below is the message I sent to the STRS Board on October 5. When is OEA-R going to come to its senses and start fighting for retirees?

Kathie Bracy

Dear STRS Board member,

I am writing to strongly urge you to trash the current HPA plan immediately and come up with a plan that is fair to both active teachers AND retirees, which their plan is not. There should be NO cuts in COLAs for any retiree whose pension is modest at best and who has no way of improving his/her financial situation, as do active teachers who are not close to retirement.

In addition, to even consider any such cuts in the near future (2011) when the actives, many of whom have comfortable incomes far greater than the vast majority of retirees, get to be "grandfathered" and won't even see any changes before 2015, is a cruel slap in the face to your retired members.

It's time to go back to the drawing board, and I strongly urge you to do so. I also urge you to seek input from retirees other than those whom ORTA professes to represent (as a member of the HPA). I am a life member of ORTA, but ORTA does NOT represent me.

Thank you.

Kathie Bracy

STRS retiree

From: William Spears <wsears1109@AOL.COM>
To: OEA-R@LISTS.OHEA.ORG
Sent: Tue, Oct 12, 2010 10:09 am
Subject: Fwd: Urgent request--Contact STRS Board members

-----Original Message-----
From: Davis, Robert [OH] <davisr@ohea.org>
Sent: Tue, Oct 12, 2010 9:53 am
Subject: Fw: Urgent request--Contact STRS Board members

To: OEA Board of Directors, District Leaders, Legislative Committee and OEA-R Advisory Council

A reminder of the importance of contacting members of the STRS Board and urging them to support the HPA proposal. The Board is scheduled to vote on the proposal this Friday. Board members need to continue to hear from their constituents, both active and retired, who support this proposal. More information is provided below. Thank you.

--Robert Davis

OEA Governmental Services

From: Leibensperger, Bill [OH]
Sent: Friday, October 01, 2010 4:35 PM
To: Board of Directors
Cc: District Leaders; OEA-R
Subject: Urgent Request
Importance: High

Dear Colleagues,

As we have discussed, the STRS Board is scheduled to vote on the proposal by the Healthcare & Pension Advocates (HPA) at the October Board meeting. The HPA proposal addresses key concerns with the Board-approved plan. Adoption of the HPA proposal would be more fair and equitable to our members and bring about broad support of stakeholder groups. At the same time, the HPA proposal accomplishes this goal without much impact on the funding status of the STRS pension plan (adding only 1.7 years to the funding period).

I believe it is essential at this critical time that the members of the STRS Board hear from each of you about your support for this plan. Remind them of who you represent and the fact that the OEA Representative Assembly voted to support the HPA proposal. I have copied District Leaders and OEA-R Advisory Council with the request that each of the members of those groups do the same. Communicating with members of the Board will provide support for members who support the HPA plan and will hopefully persuade any who do not.

Provided below are talking points for your use in crafting a message to the members of the STRS Board. You contact members of the STRS Board by emailing the following addresses:

Craig Brooks craig_brooks@sbcglobal.net

Regina Burch BurchR@strsoh.org

Carol Correthers CorrethC@strsoh.org

Tai Hayden HaydenT@strsoh.org

Mark Hill HillMa@strsoh.org

Daniel Martin MartinD@strsoh.org

Jim McGreevy McgreevJ@strsoh.org

Tim Myers MyersT@strsoh.org

Dale Price PriceD@strsoh.org

Bob Stein SteinR@strsoh.org

Please forward me a copy of your email and feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.

Talking Points on HPA Proposal

Overview:

· The plan passed by the STRS Board in September 2009 was not supported by OEA and other stakeholder groups.

· A coalition of stakeholder groups representing employees, employers and retirees (HPA) have developed a counter-proposal that was more fair and equitable but would not substantially impact the funding goals of the STRS Board.

· The HPA plan makes key changes--adding a phase-in to the change in retirement eligibility and removing the “tier” in COLA benefits; while adding only 1.7 years to the funding period.

· The OEA Board of Directors and our Representative Assembly have voted to support the HPA plan.

· Support of constituency groups such as OEA will be critical in the legislative process. By adopting the changes recommended by HPA, the STRS Board will help assure that we are all “on the same page” in what will likely be a difficult

Phase in of Retirement Eligibility:

· The HPA proposal calls for the change from retirement with 30 years of service at any age to 35 years of service at any age to be phased in over an eight year period.

· This change would limit the disruption of retirement planning for those who are in the latter stages of their careers while without adding substantially to the funding period.

· The plan adopted by the STRS Board is unfair to members who fall just short of reaching 30 years of service by 2015. They would need to work another five years in order to be able to retire.

· The HPA proposal would allow over 6,800 active teachers with between 21 and 24 years of service to retire earlier than the STRS plan.

COLA:

· The HPA proposal would set a 2% COLA for those who retire after 2011; however the COLA is deferred for 36 months.

· The disparity between the percentage given to those who retire before 7/1/2011 and those who retire after that point would create a “rush to the door” where anyone eligible to retire would be incentivized to do so.

· The rush to the door would be extremely disruptive to Ohio’s schools and campuses. Further, it runs counter the Board’s goals to have a spike in retirements in 2011.

· The deferral of the COLA for 36 months reduces the cost to the system of increasing the COLA rate for future retirees.

Early retirement at 30 YOS:

· The HPA proposal would allow members to retire with 30 years of service subject to an actuarial reduction of benefits.

· Those who reach 30 years of service after eligibility changes would still have the option to retire, albeit significantly reduced benefits.

· There is no negative effect on the funding period.

FAS:

· The HPA plan would grant the Board statutory authority to set final average salary based on three to five years.

· The change to FAS has the least impact on the system. However, this change does have tangible impact individual members’ pension benefits.

· Granting the Board statutory authority to make the change allows for greater flexibility should economic conditions improve substantially.

Bill Leibensperger

Vice President

Ohio Education Association

614-227-3088