Dennis Leone: More concerns in addition to the Board's use of flawed assumptions

Dennis Leone to Kathie Bracy, February 6, 2013

Your posting reminds of 3 things I forgot (which were in addition to my consternation over the flawed assumptions the board insisted on using):

1. The Board’s original plan did NOT lock the 14% contribution rate of active teachers at any year in the future. The board merely wanted “authority” to raise it 14% if it desired, which clearly meant that OEA would have had the opportunity to stop it. I really blew my stack on that one. The approved plan one year later, as you know, has the 14% locked in.

2. The Final Average Salary calculation would have stayed at 3 years in the old plan. You will see below that I demanded that it be 5 years, which – by the way – STRS used in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The final plan has 5 years.

3. The other thing I pushed for, which I had completely forgot, was that I recommended that retirees of the future have NO COLA – which 12 other states currently are doing. THIS IS A PERMANENT SOLUTION TO OUR PENSION SOLVENCY. The final plan forbids retirees from getting a COLA for 5 years. My point always has been that active teachers do not even know they are slated to get a COLA, they are not planning on it, and they won’t miss something they never had……..not to mention that their pension income will far exceed current retirees when they retiree. ABOLISHING THE COLA FOR FUTURE RETIREES IS THE PERMANENT SOLUTION FOR OUR PENSION SOLVENCY THE FUTURE. Boy, OEA sure hates this idea. Screw current retirees, but protect, protect, protect future retirees who are currently active teachers.