Trina gets it: "Let’s call STRS what it really is… a rip off, scam, swindle, fraud, abomination."

By Trina Prufer

June 4, 2023

STRS- How they cheat - Instead of fulfilling its mission (retirement security) it just changed its mission ( it now provides a “foundation” for retirement security..whatever that means). From my vantage point, this looks like the very definition of “bait and switch”. Of course, the irony is that STRS has made it IMPOSSIBLE for members to EVER reach retirement security. Let’s not mince words, retirement security is 70% replacement adjusted for inflation. 

Let’s remember that teachers do not make a lot of money during their careers. In fact, many need to supplement their incomes just to make ends meet. As used by STRS, the FAS is a misnomer as a concept, because other than that first year of retirement, the pension benefit diminishes from there. 

No one can live a comfortable life on less than 60%, and that’s a stretch. After ten years without a 3% cola, many retirees are now at less than 50% FAS. The ONLY number that matters is the replacement value, because it factors in inflation. That’s how the younger generation plans for an adequate retirement. There is absolutely NO room for spin, deception, gamesmanship or gaslighting. For teachers, a pension is NOT a joke. 

For those already retired from STRS, it’s impossible to have financial security because we were robbed of the knowledge needed to plan for it. We have no idea of the actual worth of our contributions after years of compounding. For actives, they put in 14%, but only get back 11% in benefits. What happens to the 14% the district puts in, or the additional 3%? Who knows? Let’s call STRS what it really is… a rip off, scam, swindle, fraud, abomination.

They tell us they cheat every day. Just look at the evidence:

1. The propaganda videos
2. The phony satisfaction surveys.
3. Telling us the cola was never guaranteed.
4.The monthly agenda is a dog and pony show. No time for actual information on the plight of membership.
5.Wade Steen’s removal
6. No tax cafe, luxurious building, day care, etc.
7.No oversight or regulation of the fund. The regulatory agency hardly ever bothers to meet.
8. “ But…you get back more than you put in “
9.The retirement contract means nothing. It never will.
10. We worked a lifetime for a defined-benefit sold as retirement security. By not delivering, we have been scammed.
11. We pay for lobbying efforts that are against the interests of membership.

I could go on and on. None of this is normal. It defiles the core mission of a pension system. The deception is in plain sight, for all to see.