Retirement insights from a Colorado PERA perspective

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<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/08/220803161028.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Education, Job, and Social Life May Help Protect Brain from Cognitive Decline | ScienceDaily</a></h4>



New research on Alzheimer’s finds that staying active — not just physically but also socially and intellectually — may help build up a so-called “cognitive reserve” that can provide protection against the disease. Researchers say the study highlights the importance of activities we often consider “leisure,” such as reading and socializing, in lifelong learning.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://apnews.com/article/student-loan-forgiveness-biden-plan-d9c8e18774a744187c9af634bf4eb728" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Student Loan Forgiveness Could Help More Than 40 Million | The Associated Press</a></h4>



President Joe Biden announced plans to forgive up to $20,000 in federal student loan debt. Officials say more than 40 million people could be eligible for forgiveness and 20 million could see their student debt eliminated entirely.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://coloradosun.com/2022/08/22/colorado-health-insurance-purchasing-alliance/?mc_cid=421fd18be6&amp;mc_eid=a158e71f49" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Colorado&#8217;s State Employee Health Insurance Plan Aims for Reform | The Colorado Sun</a></h4>



The State of Colorado is teaming up with the Colorado Purchasing Alliance to offer cost-saving options to enrollees in the state’s Cigna health insurance plans. Those workers — about 19,000 of them — will have access to lower negotiated rates and a tool for comparing providers on price and quality ratings.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/08/17/1117832975/teachers-school-supplies-irs" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">For the First Time in 20 Years, Teachers Can Deduct More for School Supplies | NPR</a></h4>



Since 2002, teachers have been able to deduct up to $250 in out-of-pocket classroom expenses from their taxes. For the 2022 tax year, that amount increases to $300. The deduction will continue to increase in future years to account for inflation.



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News You Should Know is a digest of news from publications around the nation about finance, investing, and retirement.

News You Should Know: Lifestyle Factors Such as Social Life May Protect Against Alzheimer’s

Traditional pension-type retirement plans play a critical role in recruiting and retaining good teachers and save districts money, according to new research from the <a href="http://www.nirsonline.org/index.php" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National Institute on Retirement Security</a> (NIRS).



In <a href="https://www.copera.org/pensions-play-critical-role-in-recruiting-and-retaining-teachers-research-shows" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" class="broken_link">Revisiting the Three Rs of Teacher Retirement Systems: Recruitment, Retention and Retirement</a>, NIRS finds that:



<ul>
<li>Defined benefit (DB) pension plans like Colorado PERA’s <a href="https://content.copera.org/commitment-public-service-themes-guide-peratour/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hybrid plan</a> help retain teachers, increasing their effectiveness as they become more experienced.</li>



<li>The retention effects of DB pension plans save school districts money – between $131 and $284 million nationally in 2009 – through reduced teacher turnover costs.</li>



<li>When compared to defined contribution (DC) accounts, DB plans help to recruit high quality teachers and retain highly productive teachers longer.</li>
</ul>



Multiple examples of research findings across industries and sectors, including but not limited to public school teachers, show that employees highly value pension-type retirement benefits, making them both a strong recruitment and retention tool.



The research brief explains that teacher effectiveness increases with experience, meaning that great teacher retention creates higher overall teacher productivity. Teachers become more effective as they gain experience, with effectiveness increasing sharply within the first three to five years of teaching. The youngest, least experienced teachers have the highest turnover.



The research found that in 2009, DB plans helped to retain 30,000 teachers nationwide. Because the cost of teacher turnover, which includes recruitment, hiring, and orientation, is substantial, the retention effects saved school districts between $130.7 million and $284.4 million nationally in teacher turnover costs.



As the research brief notes, “because DB pensions play an important role in the retention of highly productive teachers, pensions have the dual benefit of both increasing the overall quality of our public education system while also reducing the costs to taxpayers.”



Review a NIRS presentation about the research <a href="https://www.copera.org/pensions-play-critical-role-in-recruiting-and-retaining-teachers-research-shows" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" class="broken_link">here</a>.

Pensions Play Critical Role in Recruiting and Retaining Teachers, Research Shows

The Center for American Progress recently analyzed current data suggesting that 70 percent of new teachers are staying in their profession for at least five years. Analysts used the most recent data from the <a href="http://www.nces.ed.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics</a> (the national clearing house for data of this kind) to find that since 2007, new teachers have been staying in the classroom at rates much higher than is typically understood, and they find this to be true even in high-poverty schools. While more research is needed to identify the cause of the jump in retention rates, it is clear that the accepted view of attrition needs to be rethought.



Review the NCES <a href="http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/btls/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">longitudinal study</a> and the <a href="http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/sass/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">schools and staffing survey</a>.

Rethinking Teacher Turnover

The <a href="http://www.nirsonline.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National Institute on Retirement Security</a> (NIRS) evaluated the experience of teachers in Washington and Ohio in selecting different retirement plans. Their finding: “teachers prefer a stand-alone defined benefit pension when given a choice between a pension plan or a plan that combines a defined contribution account with a pension.” <a href="https://www.copera.org/new-research-shows-teachers-prefer-defined-benefit-retirement-plans" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" class="broken_link">Read the case studies.</a>

New Research Shows Teachers Prefer Defined Benefit Retirement Plans

Confused about whether or not PERA is an issue related to the school finance initiative (Amendment 66) that is on the November ballot? Read articles from the Grand Junction<a href="https://content.copera.org/pera-and-amendment-66/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> Daily Sentinel</a> and the <a href="http://durangoherald.com/article/20131023/NEWS01/131029763/-1/s/Nuances-are-crucial-with-Amendment-66--" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Durango Herald</a> for the facts.

Tag Archives:

News You Should Know: Lifestyle Factors Such as Social Life May Protect Against Alzheimer’s

Pensions Play Critical Role in Recruiting and Retaining Teachers, Research Shows

Rethinking Teacher Turnover

New Research Shows Teachers Prefer Defined Benefit Retirement Plans

PERA and Amendment 66

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