The publications linked below will help you understand, defend, and strengthen the quality and level of retirement benefits for yourself and other public education employees. Protecting the Retirement Security of NEA Members: A Toolkit has all the information you'll need to protect your pension plan from legislative attack. It includes the advantages of defined benefit (DB) pension plans and the weaknesses of defined contribution (DC) pension plans, what the research shows about converting DB plans to DC plans, how to respond to the arguments you'll hear, and how to conduct campaigns around pension issues.
http://www.nea.org/retired/tools/publications.html#toolkit
Characteristics of Large Public Education Pension Plans, December 2006, presents the results of a survey conducted during the summer and fall of 2006. It provides data in the areas of plan membership, assets, retirement eligibility, vesting requirements, purchase of service credit, state taxation of benefits, employee and employer contribution rates, plan benefit formulas and limitations, actuarial methods, funding, and board membership.
( 
PDF, 172 pp., 7 MB)
http://www.nea.org/takenote/images/char2006.pdf
The Status of Retirement Coverage for Education Support Professionals provides the facts about retirement programs available for education support professionals (ESPs) and includes a comparison of retirement benefits for ESPs and teachers in each state. In addition to describing the existing benefits, the report identifies and discusses recommendations for improving the way ESPs are covered and the adequacy of such coverage.
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PDF file, 24 pp., 216 KB)
http://www.nea.org/takenote/images/espretire06.doc
Post-Retirement Return-to-Work Programs: A Survey and Discussion reviews state policies for allowing retired teachers to return-to-work without forfeiting their pensions and the various ways states have acted to ensure that return-to-work does not adversely affect the retirement system. It discusses concerns relating to return-to-work, including the barriers, disadvantages and benefits of this complicated issue for employees, school systems, associations, and retirement systems.
( PDF file, 52 pp., 222 KB)
http://www.nea.org/takenote/images/rtw-aug2004.pdf
NEA Issue Brief on Pension Protections in State Constitutions examines the pension protections currently in state constitutions and offers model language for those advocating for such a provision to protect the retirement system and its members.
( PDF file, 24 pp., 216 KB)
http://www.nea.org/takenote/images/penprotect06.doc
Retirement Systems & Retiree Health Insurance summarizes the findings of a 2005 study of the various health insurance plans offered to public education employees by public education retirement systems in the United States.
(Coming soon…)
More information about Social Security Privatization:
- NEA's Position on Social Security Privatization
- Protect Social Security Benefits
- Social Security: Cornerstone of Societal Safety Net
- Privatization: A Bad Deal for Younger Americans
- Privatization: A Bad Deal for Public Employees
- Privatization: A Bad Deal for African Americans
- Privatization: A Bad Deal for Hispanic Communities
- Privatization: A Bad Deal for Women
- Social Security Privatization and Attacks on Public Education Pension Plans
- Other Resources
