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It is not unusual for different pension plans to have dissimilar benefit provisions, however few have starker differences than Plans 1,2 and 3 of the Washington State Teachers Retirement System (TRS).
The designers of Plan 1 recognized that not all employees could or should retire at age 65. Many teachers enter the profession as a second career, some needed to interrupt work to raise children or care for relatives. Plan 1 allows for a wide range of flexibility and choice without undue penalty for those that need or wish to retire before age 65. Plan 1 members are able to retire after 30 years of service at any age with full retirement benefits. A disadvantage is that members do not have the use of service credit for years beyond 30 or have a COLA on their final compensation until age 66 or 67.
In contrast, members in Plans 2 and 3 must work until they are 65 in order to realize full retirement benefits. They face quality of life altering reduction of benefits if they choose to retire before 65 even if they have taught for 40 years.
A proposal to begin to address the retirement inequities among the plans is the Rule of 85. It would allow members of Plans 2 and 3 to retire when their age plus years of service are equal to or greater than 85. For example, a 55 year old member with 30 years of service could retire without penalty. The WEA has made this proposal one of their top legislative priorities.
Gainsharing is a mechanism to increase benefits for PERS and TRS Plan 1 and Plan 3 members. Increases are contingent on the occurrence of “extraordinary investment gains.” These gains occur when the previous four -year average investment return exceeds 10 percent. There will be a gainsharing event in 2008.
State law now requires that future gainsharing obligations be prefunded in the state biennial budgets. The prefunding of possible gainsharing events is seen as a costly commitment by the Legislature and repeal of gainsharing is being considered. Elimination or some other reduction of gainsharing will reduce benefits to present and future beneficiaries. Plan 2 members who switched to Plan 3 did so on the promise of gainsharing. It is a promise the state made to Plan 1 and Plan 3 members that must be kept. The loss of gainsharing could also have a serious impact on the quality of life for Plan 1 and Plan 3 members for years to come.
Contact your legislator today and tell them you support the Rule of 85 and oppose the repeal of Gainsharing if you want to protect pension benefits.
You can contact your legislator by going to the WEA website at www.washingtonea.org, click on Issues, Advocacy and Politics on the top bar. Drag down to contact your lawmaker then enter your zip code. Follow the directions to send and email to your House and Senate representative. Messages may also be left by phone by calling the Legislative Hot Line at 1-800-562-6000. Do it today!
Once again it is time for CVEA elections to the Executive Board. Your Building Reps will be conducting elections for next year’s officers and our delegates to NEA/RA. Thank you to those members who have chosen to devote their time to the Association and to public education. Those who are running for office are listed below along with information regarding experience and current assignment.
Kent retired in 2001 after teaching in CVSD for 31 years. He served in various Association positions over the last 15 years including Grievance Chair, Bargaining Team member, Building Rep, delegate WEA/RA and NEA/RA. Kent is currently serving his sixth year as CVEA President.
Steve has taught at University High School since 1984. He has served as Member at Large and Vice President of CVEA and as a delegate to WEA/RA and NEA/RA. Steve has also served on the Bargaining Team for the last three terms. He is currently CVEA Vice President.
Shirley is serving in her second year as Secretary/Treasurer of the Association. Shirley has been in the District for 13 years and been a Building Rep for 8 years. She currently teaches at Greenacres Elementary and likes puppies and chocolate.
June currently teaches 4th grade at Liberty Lake Elementary. She has been in the District for 16 years. June has been a Building Rep for ten years, served on the bargaining team, has been a delegate to the WEA/RA and NEA/RA and is currently serving as the Elementary Member at Large on the CVEA Executive Board.
Vicki has worked in the District for 15 years, all of them at the middle level. During this time she has served on several district committees. Vicki was an athletic director for nine years and has represented middle school athletic directors and PE teachers on bargaining issues. Currently she is serving as Middle Level Rep on the Executive Board and is the secretary of the Central Valley Coaches Association. Last year Vicki was a delegate to the WEA/RA.
Monica has been in the District for five years and has been involved in WEA for eight years. She was previously an association member for the mid-state area for three years until returning to Spokane in 2002. Monica has been a building rep at Evergreen since 2002 and attended the WEA Sparks conference in 2003. She is currently serving on the Team of 12 bargaining team and the Evaluation Review committee.
Dick has been in the District for 29 years, all of them at CVHS as a math instructor. He has served as the department chair for math and as the head of the math vertical committee. Dick currently serves as the High School Rep on the Executive Board and is on the bargaining team.
The National Education Association Representative Assembly will be held in Philadelphia this summer. The CVEA will send four delegates to the RA. The following members are running for the three open positions. The other position will be filled by Kent Richardson, CVEA President.
The State of Washington is now offering half-scholarships ($1,250 of the $2,500 fee) to WEA members seeking National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification. Scholarship information is online. Applications must arrive at the OSPI by Feb. 23. Have questions about NBPTS? E-mail WEA staffer Jim Meadows at jmeadows@washingtonea.org.
Horace Mann Corporation and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum have partnered to create the Horace Mann-Abraham Lincoln fellowship, which will occur next June or July. All full-time K-12 teachers in the United States are eligible to apply.
Annually, one teacher from each state is selected to participate. Bellevue EA member Lucinda Briggs attended last year. This Fellowship includes round-trip transportation, lodging, and most meals. Applications are due Feb. 28. Visit the Horace Mann Educators Corporation Web site at horacemann.com and click on educator resources.
I plan to be in the following buildings during lunch to meet members and answer questions. kr
CVEA EXECUTIVE BOARD
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