Teachers who stay reap the benefits

RECENT REPORTS state that Albuquerque Public Schools must hire more substitute teachers to augment the 200 they have in the classroom today.

Part of this is due to fewer students pursuing teaching careers and beginning teachers opting to exit the profession earlier.

We applaud APS for its efforts to increase the number of certified teachers. The New Mexico Educational Retirement Board bolsters that effort by providing a defined benefit pension that increases in value for those teachers who stay on the job.

The Educational Retirement Board system is designed to encourage teachers to stay in the classroom longer before collecting their pension. Benefits keep growing so that a teacher does not “max out” even if the salary stays the same.

The benefit is 2.35 percent times the years of service, times the highest average salary for five consecutive years. Someone retiring with 30 years has a pension of 70.5 percent of the calculation above, while a 25-year retiree gets 58.75 percent.

Typically, teachers also participate in Social Security, while few teachers are eligible in our neighboring states of Texas and Colorado.

NMERB is a defined benefit plan that works to provide all educational employees a sound retirement benefit. The plan earnings are in the top tier of its peers nationwide over short and long time horizons.

We remind teachers that we are here to ensure their retirement years and it is worthwhile professionally, personally and financially to stay in the APS — and all of New Mexico’s classrooms. MARY LOU CAMERON Chair, N.M. Educational Retirement Board

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The Albuquerque Journal welcomes letters expressing opinions on news and commentary that have been published in the newspaper. Letters should be no longer than about 350 words. Bylined columns of up to about 650 words will also be considered for publication. All submissions accepted for publication are subject to editing and may appear in print or electronic form, including on the Journal’s Internet website and in its searchable archives and databases. All submissions must include a writers’ first and last name (which will be published) and home address and telephone number (which only will be used to verify authorship). Letters sent through the post office should be signed. Submit online through our website using your Internet browser (not email) at http://www.abqjournal. com/letters or via the post office: Letters to the Journal; P.O. Drawer J; Albuquerque, NM 87103.