A clarification from Bob Buerkle on a discussion re: reemployed retirees

Bob Buerkle clarifies status of rehired retirees

From Facebook 

April 25, 2021

Person A: My point is in response to your original post saying rehires and the district "shouldn't be required to pay 14% to STRS" Your words! I simply disagreed. Anybody (regardless of active or retire/rehire) needs to pay into STRS regardless of being active or retire/rehire.

Bob Buerkle to Person A: Person A, a little history about STRS Employer Contribution sharing with the reemployed retiree. When a reemployed retiree was paying 9.3% from 1994-2003 STRS actually matched the retiree's contributions at 10.5%. I believe this percentage match that was used due to the mitigating rate of 3.5% that STRS withheld from the employer contributions so the pension system would be held harmless, based on the new Alternative Retirement Pension option for those college professors who chose it. When the Member contributions were raised to 10% in 2003, the STRS Employer Match was still either 10% or 10.5%. In 2005 the STRS dropped the match for reemployed retirees down to 5%, or only half of the 10% that you were required to contribute. In 2012 STRS decided to keep all 14% of the employer contributions for themselves, thus driving your match down to 0% and that's where it has stayed ever since, sort of like our 0% COLA. THIS IS JUST ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF WHAT MAKES STRS A "TOP QUARTILE PENSION PLAN" THAT STRS MANAGEMENT KEEPS TELLING US OUR PLAN IS, YOU KNOW.

Person B: STRS keeps all of the matching 14%?", and none spoke up about this before now?!!!

Bob Buerkle to Person B: Person B , they not only keep all 14% of the Employer Contributions from the reemployed retirees, STRS is not using any of the 14% in Employer Contributions for the benefit of active teachers pensions as well. In fact, of the 14% of EMPLOYEE CONTRIBUTIONS, THEY KEEP 3.14% of that also. According to the STRS actuarial report for 2020 by Cheiron, on page 31, it states the entire pension that today's current teachers are working for has a value of only 10.86% of their earnings, even though they are being charged 14% for it every payday.