Protect Georgia’s Teacher Retirement System (TRS)
Senate Retirement Committee Members
Georgia’s Teacher Retirement System (TRS) is one of the most financially sound systems in the United States. As educators, we dedicate our careers to teaching and investing in the lives of our 1.6 million children in public education. In this profession, our pay is below market compared to other professions, and pay raises are rare. Regardless of this reality, we know that we can depend on the Teacher Retirement System of Georgia to provide us an adequate retirement in our golden years through the current defined benefit plan TRS offers. Many of us do not receive Social Security payments like most of the American public, and TRS is the only retirement we can depend on. Senate Bill (SB) 152 puts this system at risk for current and future educators.
What would the passage of SB152 mean in educational terms? The certainty of a teacher’s retirement income impacts how he or she feels about being in the education profession. The passage of SB 152 would mean accelerating already low teacher retention rates; thus, having fewer teachers in the profession would lead to lower educational performance, especially among low-income and minority schools. Children do not thrive on instability in the classroom. Schools should be places of certainty in children’s lives.
We believe that the Teacher Retirement System of Georgia is not broken; therefore, no need exists to fix it. We call on the Governor and General Assembly to preserve the current, financially sound retirement system. Vote No on SB 152 in order to keep the Teacher Retirement System as it is, thus maintaining an adequate retirement for current and future generations of educators.
Sponsored by
To:
Senate Retirement Committee Members
From:
[Your Name]
Georgia’s Teacher Retirement System (TRS) is one of the most financially sound systems in the United States. As an educator, I dedicate my career to teaching and investing in the lives of part of Georgia’s 1.6 million children in public education. In this profession, my pay is below market is compared to other professions, and pay raises are rare. Regardless of this reality, I know that I can depend on the Teacher Retirement System of Georgia to provide me an adequate retirement in my golden years through the current defined benefit plan TRS offers. Many of us in this profession do not receive Social Security payments like most of the American public, and TRS is the only retirement we can depend on.
Thus, I believe SB 152 places the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia and a secure retirement for educators at risk. The bill targets people that will enter the system after January 1, 2017, but I believe it will impact all public education members of TRS . I am concerned about SB 152 for the following reasons.
SB 152
• Converts the current financially sound defined benefit retirement system to one that includes a risky defined contribution retirement system: a 401K plan. In the recent economic recession, individuals with this 401-K system saw their retirement accounts evaporate overnight. SB 152 puts the financial risk the backs of the educators to invest for their retirement.
• Reduces the current defined benefits contribution multiplier for service, disability, and death benefits from 2% to 1%.
• Has the state partially matching contributions to an individual’s retirement account depending on amount individual educator contributes. Many educators struggle to pay their bills now, so educators being able to afford to contribute to receive the state’s partial match will be a financial hardship.
• Eliminates the expectation of a post retirement benefit adjustment (i.e. COLA increases) to be provided by the state for retired members!
• Puts long-term financial viability of TRS at risk for current participants by decreasing future financial contributions from the state.
What would the passage of SB152 mean in educational terms? The certainty of a teacher’s retirement income impacts how he or she feels about being in the education profession. The passage of SB 152 would accelerate already low teacher retention rates; thus, having fewer teachers in the profession would lead to lower educational performance, especially among low-income and minority schools. Children do not thrive on instability in the classroom. Schools should be places of certainty in children’s lives.
For the reasons outlined in this letter, I urge you to vote no on SB 152.
Sincerely,