Bob Buerkle responds to a long time STRS retiree: How STRS changed the game AFTER you retired

October 30, 2020

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Ronald P. Bedra (on Facebook): I retired in 1978 and haven't had a problem yet.

Bob Buerkle's response: Ronald P. Bedra I'm happy for you that you have had a long 42 years in retirement. I am not jealous that you received 21 years of 13th checks from STRS. I believe you deserved the free Health Care you received from STRS until 1993. I am glad for you that you received Legislative ad hoc raises. I think you deserved the 5% Formula increase you received in 2000 from Sub. Senate Bill 190. And I am glad that you were provided a 3% COLA for every year from 1979 through 2012 because those 33 years represent exactly what it takes to double your original pension with a 3% simple COLA.  According to the official STRS Cost of Living Comparison dated 07/01/2020, even with all of these benefit increases Ron, you are still behind your original retirement purchasing power by 22.2%.

STRS Retirees since the turn of this century are in a whole new paradigm. They have no COLA now or the prospect of one for the next 18-20 years, no chance at all of ever seeing their original pensions double, even if they live to be 120.  Forget all of the extra benefits that you received besides your COLA, simply not having any of the COLA payments like you received; can you even imagine how far behind today's STRS Retirees purchasing power will be if they live 42 years into their retirement as you have done?  

Todays retirees also pay through the nose for Health Care until Medicare age and while your payroll contributions were never more than 8%, today's teachers pay 14%.

When you retired the retirement rules for an unreduced pension were 30 years at any age. Most of today's teachers will not be able to retire without a reduced formula unless they are at least 60 years of age, and for the 22-year-old beginning teacher that means that they will have to work for 38 years.

RON, NONE OF THIS IS YOUR FAULT AND WE DON'T PLACE ANY BLAME ON YOU WHATSOEVER BUT REALIZE THIS; THE GAME HAS CHANGED. POOR STRS PLANNING, COMBINED WITH UNDERPERFORMING INVESTMENT DECISIONS AND THE LACK OF LEGISLATIVE LOBBYING FOR NEW SOURCES OF INCOME HAVE LED US TO THIS TIME AND PLACE.

Bob Buerkle: Exposing Outrageous STRS Behaviors

Exposing Outrageous STRS Behaviors

By Bob Buerkle

October 30, 2020

Originally posted on OHIO STRS Member Only Forum (Facebook)

While we are in this time of fundraising for an outside Fiduciary Audit of STRS, I have decided to write down one or more thoughts every day or so over the next week, in order to shine some light “Exposing Outrageous STRS Behavior” and why an Audit is justified. I hope this will inspire you to make a donation towards this “Audit” objective which is simple to do by going to ORTA.org, but equally or more important, please send out this same request to the appropriate contacts on your own email list. Because this is a closed forum I cannot make this thread sharable but feel free to highlight, copy and paste my future comments into your own emails to friends. My list begins with the first two below.  If I ever reach an end to these “Outrageous STRS Behavior’s” I will post the entire list at a future date and on our several websites. Feel free to add any other “Outrageous STRS Behaviors” that you know of in your comments on the website. I will try to read them all. Hopefully we can reach the $75,000 goal in less than a month and I thank you in advance.

Here are the first two “Outrageous STRS Behaviors”:

1. Why do 17 of the top 20 highest paid Pension Employees of Ohio’s five Public Retirement Systems work at STRS, for us, but STRS still cannot afford to pay our Retirees their COLA?

2. Why should 85 of our STRS Employees make more than the governor of Ohio, four of whom make four times as much as the Governor?

STRS News from Robin Rayfield, Executive Director of the Ohio Retired Teachers Association

From the ORTA Newsletter

October 29, 2020

The STRS Board met in a virtual meeting on October 15, 2020. The meeting consisted of several presentations by the investment department and by the finance department. There is no ‘good news’ to report from either group, however, there were some contentious moments.

To begin with, there were problems with getting the minutes of the September meeting approved. Board member Steen wanted the minutes to reflect that there was some concern on the part of board members that the STRS staff feel pressure that the retirees are not receiving a COLA. After significant discussion on the matter the minutes were tabled.

Even though STRS chooses not to record meetings, Mr. Steen offered to provide a copy of September’s meeting so that the minutes could accurately reflect the discussion from that meeting. An important takeaway from this exchange is related to transparency. It would seem reasonable and appropriate for STRS to record meetings and make this recording available to STRS members that are unable to attend or listen to the meetings. No active teachers can ‘listen’ or be present at STRS meetings, so it would seem reasonable for a recording of the meetings to be available.

It is also worth mentioning that board member Wade Steen recognizes that many members of STRS are not satisfied with the current status quo. This dissatisfaction, especially for retirees, has led ORTA to make the difficult decision to engage an outside and independent expert to conduct a forensic audit of the STRS pension system. I have included a separate announcement in this newsletter [posted below]. I hope that all ORTA members can get behind this effort.

ORT A and the STRS Forensic financial audit

The Ohio Retired Teachers Association (ORTA) is proud to announce an effort to engage Benchmark Financial to conduct a forensic audit of the STRS Pension System. Edward ‘Ted’ Siedle (principal of Benchmark Financial Services) is a former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission attorney and globally recognized expert in pensions. His firm, Benchmark Financial Services, Inc., has conducted well over $1 trillion in reviews of pensions on behalf of pension plan sponsors and pension participants. To learn more about Mr. Siedle you can visit http://www.siedlewhistleblowerforensics.com/whistleblower....

The decision to engage in a review of what is taking place with our pension system did not come easy. For several years STRS has failed to live up to its obligations to retirees. The loss of our guaranteed pension benefits beginning in 2015 with the reduction of our promised increase of pension benefits followed by the elimination of our promised increases in 2017 have forced retirees into this decision. STRS is in the best financial shape of the 5 public pension systems in Ohio, however, STRS retirees have gone several years without any increase in benefits. Some retirees have gone 8 years without an increase in retirement benefits! The loss of COLA, despite being promised by STRS and guaranteed in Ohio law at the time of retirement has no end in sight. When pressed for answers, STRS leadership simply say ‘STRS will only consider providing any COLA after the pension system has reached a funding level of 85%’. Keep in mind that in over 100 years of existence STRS has only been at funding level of 85% or above a handful of times and has not been at 85% or more in the past decade. At the October STRS meeting the paid financial consultant for STRS (Cheiron) indicated that STRS is not likely to reach the 85% funding threshold for many years. If STRS is unable to pay its obligations to its retirees at a time when the stock market is at record levels and the burden on active teachers is 40% higher than it was a decade ago, it is time for a deeper look at the manner in which our retirement is managed.

Thus, ORTA has agreed to participate in the collection of donations from STRS members to pay the fees associated with this external and independent review of STRS. To collect these donations ORTA has established an account at our partner Education First Credit Union. All donations collected for this purpose will be deposited into the Forensic Audit Account. There are several ways that you can donate towards our goal of raising the $75,000 required for this forensic audit:

1. Current ORTA members can contribute any amount by writing a check to ORTA Forensic Audit. Your donation will be recorded in your name and deposited into the appropriate account. (Form on next page)

2. You can go online to www.orta.org and click on the Forensic Audit link to make a donation by credit card. Again, your donation will be recorded in your name.

3. If you are not a member of ORTA and would like to donate to the forensic audit you can donate any amount towards the forensic audit account. Your donation will include an annual ORTA membership at a rate of 50% ($15). The remainder of your donation will be deposited into the forensic audit account in your name.

4. People who do not want to join ORTA at the 50% discounted rate may ‘opt out’ of ORTA membership by calling our office and donate desired amount by phone at 614.431.7002 If the donation levels do not reach the required levels to engage Mr. Siedle, donations of $50 or more to the forensic audit account will be returned to the person making the donation. Donations of less than $50 will be converted to ORTA memberships. If our donation levels exceed the fees paid to Mr. Siedle, the remaining funds will be deposited into the ORTA Foundation.

Dean Dennis: The Forensic Audit is Open for Donations

From Dean Dennis

October 28, 2020

Help us reach our goal of $75,000! Here's how you can contribute. Find the paragraph that best describes you:

I'M AN ORTA MEMBER- Current ORTA members can contribute any amount by writing a check to ORTA Forensic Audit and mailing it to (ORTA, 250 E. Wilson Bridge Rd Suite 150 Worthington, OH. 43085). Or, ORTA members can simply go online to www.orta.org and click on the Forensic Audit link to make a donation by credit card or using PayPal. Your donation will be recorded in your name and deposited into the appropriate account.

I'M NOT AN ORTA MEMBER, BUT WANT TO JOIN AND CONTRIBUTE - First, thank you as there is strength in numbers. You can donate any amount towards the ORTA Forensic Audit and we'll simply deduct $15 (50% discount) from your donation and apply it towards a one year ORTA membership. You can donate by writing a check to ORTA Forensic Audit and mailing it to (ORTA, 250 E. Wilson Bridge Rd Suite 150 Worthington, OH. 43085. Or, go by going to www.orta.org since you will be considered an ORTA member.

I DON'T WANT TO JOIN ORTA, BUT WANT TO CONTRIBUTE- You can contribute any amount by writing a check to ORTA Forensic Audit and mailing it to (ORTA, 250 E. Wilson Bridge Rd Suite 150 Worthington, OH. 43085). Important: Please state on the memo section of your check, "not joining ORTA" to avoid any confusion with the other checks coming in. Thank you

IF YOU HAVE ANY PROBLEMS DONATING, CONTACT THE ORTA OFFCE AT 614-431-7002 ( work hours: 7:30-3:30)

*Note: If for some reason the donation levels do not reach the required levels to engage Mr. Siedle ($75,000 needed), donations of $45 or more to the forensic audit account will be returned to the person making the donation. Donations of less than $45 will be converted to ORTA memberships. If donations exceed the fees needed to pay to Mr. Siedle, the remaining funds will be deposited into the ORTA Foundation. We will closely monitor donations to try to keep this from happening.THE FORENSIC AUDIT IS OPEN FOR DONATIONS

John Damschroder: Retired teachers group calling on 'The Equalizer'

John Damschroder, Columnist

Fremont News Messenger

October 27, 2020 

The Ohio Retired Teachers Association (ORTA) is turning to an equalizer in their effort to restore a cost of living adjustment (COLA) to pensions from the Ohio State Teachers Retirement System. 

As TV and film buffs will recall "The Equalizer" was a one-man army defending victimized underdogs against more powerful foes. 

ORTA’s equalizer is a lawyer, accountant, whistleblower, columnist and author, Edward Siedle. ORTA leadership has created a bank account to take contributions from members and other interested parties to fund a forensic audit, or search for waste, fraud and abuse, conducted by Ted Siedle and a team of expert peers he intends to recruit to the cause of cleaning up Ohio pensions. 

Ohio STRS has long taken offense at the assertion all is not well with the pension fund. The former executive director wrote this newspaper twice to dispute conclusions reached in my column. But since the COLA cuts enacted in 2017, despite 2013 reforms that required teachers to pay more, work longer and collect smaller pensions, STRS is less than convincing. 

High cost, high risk, low return, zero visibility investing plagues all of Ohio’s public pensions. These investments have been terrible for the pensions but richly rewarding for the people who sell them, such as former Gov. John Kasich did after leaving Congress. They were also a key source of funds for Kasich’s presidential campaign, harvested despite laws against pay-to-play in the public pension funds.

One of the Wall Street giants fined by the Securities and Exchange Commission for illegal contributions to Kasich was the STRS fund manager Apollo Group. Pennsylvania’s largest pension is now shunning Apollo because of founder Leon Black’s multi-million dollar dealings with sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein, after his conviction on the sex crimes that made him infamous. While powerful Pennsylvania state Treasurer Joe Torsella attacks high fee pension investments with passion, Ohio pension money in Apollo helped the company acquire Ohio founded Cox Media Group.

In Rhode Island and North Carolina, crowd funded forensic audits put pressure on state pension managers to cut the cash flow to high cost alternative investments. Dr. Robin Rayfield, executive director of ORTA, knows simply stopping the bleeding in the STRS pension is a worthy outcome for the effort he’s leading. 

But the terrain is tougher in Ohio. Gov. Mike DeWine’s initial reaction to the bribery scandal to bail out Davis Besse and Perry nuclear power plants was, basically, that the ends justify the means. A day later, realizing he had endorsed Mafia methods, DeWine changed his stance to repeal and replace the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) charged bill, called by federal law enforcement the largest scandal in Ohio history. We’re still waiting. Meanwhile candidates for state office tell me they mopped floors in McDonald's and are moms and dads but don’t mention outrage at scandal or plans to fight systemic corruption. 

In the presidential campaign, Joe Biden is reported to be considering Kasich for a cabinet position. Kasich claims he has no interest, and the guy who put Matt “I’m so taken care of” Borges into office as chairman of the Ohio Republican Party while creating and presiding over a state government culture where RICO could flourish, would certainly draw some tough questions in confirmation hearings. 

The Biden connection will help Kasich attract clients for his new business, cashing in on his state office just as he did with Lehman Brothers to monetize his congressional career. Facilitating investments from pension funded companies such as Apollo Group is a highly valued service Kasich’s multi-billion dollar alternative investment buddies make possible. 

Ohio public pension beneficiaries can’t count on the auditor, attorney general, treasurer or governor to protect against this sort of plunder. Nor can they trust the Ohio Retirement Study Council to perform its most basic statutory duties. Bringing in an equalizer like Ted Siedle, who can find and foil pension pirates, may be the smartest investment Ohio public employees ever have the chance to make. 

John Damschroder, a Fremont native who worked in Gov. George Voinovich’s administration, writes about business and economic development in Ohio. 

https://www.thenews-messenger.com/story/news/2020/10/27/john-damschroder-equalizer-heads-ohio/6042534002/?fbclid=IwAR15n2_pbrgBa1snhxRTbwoMstwdhXg_IazRAcWlRebCtZ1_3oo1ldQgdA0

Robin Rayfield: ORTA Announces Effort to Review STRS Finances

October 27, 2020

Foreword by Dean Dennis: 

Tomorrow we will be posting how you can contribute to the STRS Forensic Audit. I have already contributed electronically by doing a test run. It was simple. When you contribute, those of you who are not a member of ORTA will be given an opportunity to join ORTA for only $15 the first year which is half price. I hope everyone chooses to join as there is strength in numbers and we need a strong organization.) 

Below is from Dr. Robin Rayfield:

The time has come! The ORTA Board recently voted to serve as the fiscal agent for an effort to engage Edward Siedle to conduct a forensic audit of the STRS pension system. Edward ‘Ted’ Siedle (principal of Benchmark Financial Services) is a former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission attorney and globally recognized expert in pensions. His firm, Benchmark Financial Services, Inc., has conducted well over $1 trillion in reviews of pensions on behalf of pension plan sponsors and pension participants. To learn more about Mr. Siedle you can visit http://www.siedlewhistleblowerforensics.com/whistleblower.

This decision did not come easy. Throughout ORTA’s 73-year history of advocacy for the retired educators, ORTA has strived to ‘keep peace’ with STRS and avoid controversy. However, since the promised benefits to STRS retirees have been steadily reduced since 2013, and there is no planned return of these promised benefits, it is time for a review of what is taking place with our pension fund. STRS is in the best financial shape of the 5 public pension systems in Ohio, however, STRS retirees have gone at least 4 years without receiving the benefits they were promised. Some retirees have gone 8 years without an increase in retirement benefits! The loss of COLA, despite being promised by STRS and guaranteed in Ohio law at the time of retirement has no end in sight. When pressed for answers, STRS leadership simply states, ‘STRS will only consider providing a COLA after the pension system has reached a funding level of 85%’. Keep in mind that in over 100 years of existence STRS has only been at funding level of 85% or above a handful of times and has not been at 85% or more in the past decade. At the October STRS meeting the paid financial consultant for STRS (Cheiron) indicated that STRS is not likely to reach the 85% funding threshold for many years.

Thus, ORTA has agreed to participate in the collection of donations from STRS members to pay the fees associated with this external and independent review of STRS. To collect these donations ORTA has established an account at our partner Education First Credit Union. All donations collected for this purpose will be deposited into the Forensic Audit Account. There will be several ways that you can donate towards our goal of raising the $75,000 required for this forensic audit.