Teacher Pension Plans: The $325 Billion Problem
The National Council on Teacher Quality contends in a new report that teacher pensions represent nearly $325 billion in unfunded liabilities for states, and that a massive overhaul of the public benefits system is required.
While Congress debates sequestration and the fiscal cliff, NCTQ warns that there's a sizeable financial hit looming ahead for states, as well.
"The thing we can't underscore enough is that the pension crisis is real," said Sandi Jacobs, vice president of NCTQ, in a call with reporters Wednesday.
NCTQ is a national advocacy and research organization that has recently drawn heat for its calls for better evaluation models to measure teacher performance, and for its plans to produce rankings for teacher colleges. NCTQ's new pension recommendations include: shoring up pension funds to meet existing commitments; basing retirement eligibility on age, rather than years of service; and lowering the number of years teachers must work
While Congress debates sequestration and the fiscal cliff, NCTQ warns that there's a sizeable financial hit looming ahead for states, as well.
"The thing we can't underscore enough is that the pension crisis is real," said Sandi Jacobs, vice president of NCTQ, in a call with reporters Wednesday.
NCTQ is a national advocacy and research organization that has recently drawn heat for its calls for better evaluation models to measure teacher performance, and for its plans to produce rankings for teacher colleges. NCTQ's new pension recommendations include: shoring up pension funds to meet existing commitments; basing retirement eligibility on age, rather than years of service; and lowering the number of years teachers must work