We have starting researching Ohio teachers’ compensation packages.  We discovered the following website that provides the details on the individual teacher’s and administrator’s annual compensation.  We started with the Riverside Local school district.  http://www.tos.ohio.gov/Teacher_Salary/-any-/-any-/-any-/-any-/-any-/-any-/-any-

Here is what the website showed us about teachers’ compensation:  compensation-for-teachers-revised

Here is what the website showed us about administrators’ compensation:

1. STRS – state teachers retirement system

2. SERS  – school employee retirement system

What is the current payment % into each system by the employee and employer?

Are there any employees, including administrators, that have the employer pay for the for employee’s portion of the pension?  If that is true, can you please tell who in the Riverside school district is receiving that benefit.

I would assume most teachers are under the Defined Benefit Plan.

Is this correct? Their pension is based on their age, years of service and their final average salary for the last five years.  They receive 2.2% of their average salary x the number of service years.

For example:  65 year old teacher with 32 years of service with average salary of $80,000 would receive $56,320 per year or $4,693 per month in retirement. [32 x 2.2% = 70.4% x $80,000 = $56,320 / 12 = $4,693]

Is it true that most teachers will endeavor to work additional jobs at the school during the last five years to ensure the maximum amount at the time of retirement?”

We received the following reply to our records request:
“Yes, there are two retirement systems applicable to Ohio school districts. Contribution to STRS is required for certified staff including teachers and licensed administrators. SERS is required for non-certified staff such as maintenance, custodians, bus drivers, and cafeteria workers.

The current required employer contribution for both STRS and SERS is 14%.

The employee portion for STRS is also 14%, but the employee portion to SERS is at 10%.

Administrators at Riverside have a portion of the employee contribution paid on their behalf by the District based on their years of service with the District as outlined in our administrative handbook (referred to as pick up). The attached spreadsheet lists all of these administrators, the verbiage from the handbook, and their current employee portion paid by the District. The superintendent, assistant superintendent, and CFO are the only ones that have their entire employee portion picked up. No other employees receive any pick up. (LFC emphasis)

I don’t think I have any specific data, but I would also assume most teachers are under the Defined Benefit Plan.

Your STRS pension calculation appears to be correct. The only thing I will point out is the salary is based on the five highest years, which may not necessarily be the last five years (In most cases it is the last five years though).

I haven’t see a trend of teachers working additional jobs the last five years to increase their retirement. I am sure there are some that do, but I don’t think it’s a common practice based on my experience.

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We also received the following worksheet that details the % of the pension “pick up” by the employer (and ultimately the taxpayers).   Riverside Local Pension Pick Up Listing as of 11-26-18