But, even as the funded ratio dropped from 78 percent in 2006 to 54 percent funded in 2012,
the average teacher retirement benefit increased from $ 37,241 in 2006 to $ 46,440 in 2012.
As Chicago's pension funding is falling,
the average teacher retirement benefit is rising.
Not exact matches
Under a continuous career, our hypothetical
teacher would obtain 30 years of service by age 55, qualifying her for «normal»
retirement benefits immediately at 75 percent of final
average salary.
In the median state, less than half of all
teachers are expected to work long enough to vest in their
retirement plan — meaning that despite big spending and promises, less than half of all public - school
teachers, on
average, will ever receive
retirement benefits for their years on the job (see Figure 3).
Under these plans, a
teacher's
retirement benefit is based on a combination of factors: how many years he or she worked, some percentage (also known as a «multiplier» or «accrual factor,» for instance 2 percent), and a final
average salary (FAS).
Tier 2 offers worse
benefits for new
teachers: it has a higher minimum service requirement (up from five to 10 years, making it more difficult for new
teachers to qualify for a minimum
benefit), a higher normal
retirement age (meaning
teachers have fewer years to collect pension payments over a lifetime), a less generous pension formula (calculating the final
average salary from the last eight years of service instead of just four), and a lower COLA.
While the
average civilian employee receives $ 1.92 per hour worked for
retirement benefits,
teachers receive $ 7.38 per hour in
retirement compensation.
South Carolina contributes 1.6 percent of
teacher salaries toward
retirement benefits, which is below the national
average and could leave
teachers vulnerable to insufficient
retirement savings.
New Jersey contributes 3.5 percent of
teacher salaries toward
retirement benefits, which is below the national
average and could leave
teachers vulnerable to insufficient
retirement savings.
Benefits are calculated using age at the time of
retirement, years of service, and the
average of a
teacher's highest three consecutive years» salaries.
However, on
average,
teachers were willing to pay just 20 cents of their current compensation for a dollar of future
retirement benefits; hence, these
teachers preferred current wages over pension wealth by a factor of five - to - one.
While the
average civilian employee receives $ 1.78 for
retirement benefits per hour of work, public school
teachers receive $ 6.22 per hour in
retirement compensation.
Since 2004, total employer contributions for
teacher retirement benefits, inclusive of Social Security, have increased from 12 to almost 23 percent of salaries on
average nationally.