Report: Virginia Ranks ‘Best State for Teachers’

Virginia is 2023’s best state for teachers, according to a study conducted by personal finance website WalletHub.

WalletHub ranked states by 24 weighted metrics in two major categories: Opportunity and competition and academic and work environment. Virginia placed first for the former and eleventh for the latter, but opportunity and competition was weighted more than twice as heavily as academic and work environment because “competitive salaries and job security are integral to a well-balanced personal and professional life,” according to the study.

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Freshman Pennsylvania Lawmaker Wants Pension Changes for Colleagues

Pennsylvania state Senator Jarrett Coleman (R-Allentown) this week introduced a measure requiring colleagues to take defined-contribution (DC) savings plans rather than traditional pensions.

Coleman, an airline pilot and former Parkland School District director, won his first Senate election last year on a reformist platform and has since briskly worked to effect change regarding education, election integrity, regulation and other issues. Now he’s asking members of his chamber to consider a policy directly affecting their own bottom lines. He believes it’s an important initial step toward more making the commonwealth’s employee retirement programs more solvent. 

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Long-Serving Wisconsin Secretary of State La Follette About to Cash in on Lucrative Taxpayer-Subsidized Pension

Secretary of State Doug La Follette’s sudden retirement from the post he’s held for nearly half a century raised questions, particularly when Governor Tony Evers swiftly appointed former state treasurer and Democratic Party political climber Sarah Godlewski to take La Follette’s place. 

But it’s the millions of dollars La Follette — and his survivors — could take home in retirement benefits that may really raise eyebrows. 

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Missouri Considers Pension Changes to Solve Teacher Shortage

Man standing in front of a room, giving a lecture with a presentation

Legislators are considering changes to Missouri’s teacher and non-certified school employee pension plans to alleviate pandemic-related teacher and staff shortages.

HB2114, sponsored by Rep. Rusty Black, R-Chillicothe, will reduce restrictions on pensions if a retired public school teacher returns to the classroom or to a non-teaching position in a public school. The legislation also increases from two to four years the length of time a retired teacher or retired non-certified public school employee can work while still receiving their pension.

During testimony before the House pensions committee, Rep. Black, the committee vice chairman, said similar legislation was passed by the House and died in the Senate last year as the legislative session ended in May. He said the legislation simplifies and improves the amount retirees can earn before their pensions are restricted.

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Despite Resigning in Disgrace, Cuomo Stands to Collect Substantial Pension

A majority of New York lawmakers were ready to remove Gov. Andrew Cuomo from office over misconduct allegations, a removal that was only averted by his resignation. But despite the near-universal condemnation of his actions as governor, Cuomo still stands to earn a substantial pension from taxpayers for his time in office.

News reports this week indicate that Cuomo has filed for his pension as the date when he has promised to resign, Aug, 24, draws near.

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Almost 100,000 Coal Miners at Risk of Losing All or Part of Pension by 2022

  More than 85,000 coal miner retirees and 20,000 working miners are at risk of losing all or part of their pension by 2022 if more coal companies declare bankruptcy. Within the next four years, a handful of major coal-fired power plants in the Ohio Valley are expected to shut down. The Conesville coal generation facility in Ohio, and the Elmer Smith Plant and EW Brown Plant in Kentucky are both expected to close in 2020. In 2021, the Bruce Mansfield plant in Pennsylvania will close as well as the W.H. Sammis Power Plant in Ohio in 2022. The Pleasants Power Station in West Virginia, originally expected to close this year, will remain open until 2022, according to FirstEnergy spokeswoman Jennifer Young. “In April 2018, FirstEnergy announced that it had reached an agreement in principle to transfer ownership of Pleasants Power Station to creditors in the bankruptcy of [First Energy Solutions] and its subsidiaries, and [FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company],” Young said. “The agreement was approved by the bankruptcy court in late September. The settlement agreement was intended to fully release FirstEnergy and related parties from all claims.” The fate of coal miners’ pensions have been in the balance since the…

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Public Pension Liabilities Are Becoming Public Threats

by Ted Yanez   In most states, people tend to worry about things like education or the economy. In Oregon, public pensions are suddenly at the forefront of political discussions. Why? Because the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) in Oregon is more than $25 billion in the hole. Of course, Oregon is hardly the only state deep in the red. California’s CalPERS unfunded liability is more than $333 billion. In case you’re not sure what an unfunded liability is, it’s the amount a state owes public retirees but doesn’t have the money for. I recently finished a two-month research project with State Representative Mike Nearman (R-Independence) in the Oregon Legislative Assembly to figure out how to explain what’s going on to the voters. While PERS is at the forefront of the minds of those “in the know,” most voters can’t explain how Oregon’s problem got so bad or what is even being done about it. That’s where I came in; Rep. Nearman wanted information for a video to explain this to voters. Why Pensions Are Out of Control Part of the problem in Oregon is how apathetic lawmakers have become. In 1994, voters narrowly approved Measure 8, which required anyone accumulating…

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