Blog: Mobility and Portability

Saving for retirement is hard enough, but states are forcing teachers into complex decisions about how much their pension might be worth in the future. Data from Illinois suggests many teachers are struggling with those decisions.

Colorado teachers will see a cut in their take-home pay next year. Again.

If you want to attract and retain good teachers, it’s probably more worthwhile to think about increasing salaries than increasing benefits.

When it comes to retirement benefits, Colorado teachers are facing a steep climb.

Since state teacher pension systems are based on teachers' experience level, high turnover districts spend less on teachers' total contribution than low-turnover districts. Also, districts with high teacher attrition disproportionately serve low-income communities. As such, teacher pensions can exacerbate inequities in school funding.

Georgia's public school teachers deserve a choice over their retirement plan.

About 75 percent of teachers begin teaching in their 20s, but others follow a less traditional path.

For most teachers, vesting periods are largely symbolic. Merely vesting in a pension plan is not sufficient to guarantee a decent benefit, and many teachers would be better off withdrawing their contributions than waiting to collect a pension.

Education reporters can find information about school budgets, educator salaries, and turnover rates in publicly available reports from teacher pension plans.

Five things all Texas teachers should know about their retirement benefits: