Forbes article by Ted Siedle: Ohio Teachers Investigation Of State Pension Spurs Special Audit By State Auditor

https://www.forbes.com/sites/edwardsiedle/2021/10/22/ohio-teachers-investigation-of-state-pension-spurs-special-audit-by-state-auditor/?sh=43156fc56e5e 

Forbes

Oct 22, 2021

Ohio Teachers Investigation Of State Pension Spurs Special Audit By State Auditor

By Edward Siedle

Pension forensics expert and record-setting whistleblower award winner 

A forensic investigation commissioned by 19,000 retirees participating in the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio spurs a special audit by State Auditor. “The information obtained to date supports a reasonable basis for conducting a special audit,” says Auditor.

As absurd as it seems, participants in pensions historically have had virtually no say in how their retirement savings are invested. When concerns regarding reckless risk-taking and revelations of avoidable losses arise, there is little pensioners can do to stop the bleeding. Underfunded state and local government pensions, not covered by the federal law protecting pensions (ERISA) or any other comprehensive law, are especially at risk. It’s no secret that public pensions are grossly mismanaged. What’s surprising is to learn that concerned active and retired school teachers in Ohio successfully banded together to commission an expert investigation of their state pension and were heard by legislators, as well as other government officials.

In a letter dated October 11, 2021, Keith Faber, the Auditor of the State of Ohio, informed the Executive Director of the $100 billion State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio that his Office had received numerous complaints evolving from a report issued by my firm, Benchmark Financial Services, Inc. titled The High Cost of Secrecy: Preliminary Findings of Forensic Investigation of State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio, Commissioned by the Ohio Retired Teachers Association..

The findings of the Benchmark report included that STRS had long abandoned transparency; legislative oversight of the pension had utterly failed; Wall Street may have been permitted to pocket lavish fees without scrutiny as to legitimacy; disclosure of investment costs and performance may have been misrepresented, as billions that could have been used to pay teachers’ retirement benefits had been squandered.

Read the rest of the article here.

Edward Siedle, Pension forensics expert and record-setting whistleblower award winner, is a former SEC attorney, investment banking and securities industry professional, and longtime Forbes writer. He is the nation's leading expert in forensic investigations of money managers and pensions, focusing upon excessive and hidden investment fees and risks, conflicts of interest and wrongdoing. He was named as one of the 40 most influential people in the U.S. pension debate by Institutional Investor Magazine for 2014 and 2015. His preliminary report on his forensic investigation of STRS, The High Cost of Secrecy, was released June 7, 2021.