That "Miserable 1%" is still that Miserable 1%
From John Curry, January 19, 2011
Here is a table taken from the Ohio Retirement Study Council's 2009 Annual report (the most recent one available from the ORSC and submitted in Feb. of 2010). Yes....STRS still only applies only 1% toward health care for retirees (and of course, unlike OPERS, zero for retirees' spouses).
If STRS hadn't paid out over one Billion dollars since the 88.5%/35 years enhanced formula that they passed in 2000, they would have had more monies to apply a higher percentage of the employer's contribution to healthcare. The STRS board of 2000 weren't thinking about this, were they?
That's OK...the Legislature will be the ones to put the "kibosh" to the 88%/35 years won't they? I guess I can't blame them for correcting the nearsightedness of a former (2000) STRS board which was staffed with quite a few OEA active teachers who encouraged the passage of the "Enhanced formula" and many of them took advantage of the 88/35 to pay out 11% more moneys at retirement than any other state retirement system paid out. That 5.5% that OPERS now collects from the employers is five and a half times the rate of the moneys at which STRS receives for our healthcare payments from school systems, isn't it? Of course, if we were to meet the 30 year unfununded liability mandate (like OPERS did) then we could have a higher employer contribution rate to our healthcare, couldn't we? Would someone like to tell the OEA about this? Of course, they wouldn't listen as retirees don't pay OEA dues, do they?
John
Ohio Retirement System
Percentage of Employer Contribution Allocated to Health Care in 2010
OPERS 5.5%%*
STRS 1.00%
SERS 0.46%**
OP&F 6.75%
HPRS 4.50%
*The OPERS board will review the percentage allocated to health care at the February 2010
board meeting.
**Does not include employer health care surcharge of up to 1.5% of total active member payroll.
posted by Kathie Bracy at 11:46 PM
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