Proposal extends new teacher retirement by 2 years
New Oklahoma teachers would have to wait for retirement two years longer than their colleagues under a bill proposed in the state House.
State Rep. Randy McDaniel said he filed his legislation to help Oklahoma’s teacher pension system remain solvent. It would not affect the retirement age for current teachers, just those who are prospective hires after the bill goes into effect.
“Retirement age qualifications have not kept up with longevity gains,” said McDaniel, R-Edmond.
Oklahoma’s Teacher Retirement System only has enough money to cover two-thirds of its long-term costs, and that percentage has risen every year since 2012. McDaniel said his bill would improve that unfunded liability by increasing the retirement age for career teachers from 60 to 62 years old.
“It will offset the rising cost of higher pension expenses,” he said. “This is a long-term savings plan because we’re looking at prospective hires.”
The legislation can be heard after lawmakers convene Feb. 6.
Oklahoma Education Association President Alicia Priest said now is not the time to extend the retirement age.
“Now is the time to invest in public education, not divest our public education employees from their retirement security,” Priest said. “We need to work at funding our system, taking care of the needs of the students, and making sure we have those qualified teachers in the classroom so we are creating an environment where they have that one-on-one attention they need to be successful in college and career.”
Priest said the measures would turn teachers away in a time when the state already is experiencing a shortage.
“Extending the retirement age was nothing that they discussed that would help attract and retain teachers into the field of education,” she said.
McDaniel also filed a bill that would let new teachers choose a different kind of retirement plan. For teachers, Oklahoma defines the payouts of pension benefits. His proposal would create a separate definedcontribution plan where the teacher would pay at least 4.5 percent of their salary toward retirement.
McDaniel said this kind of plan lets teachers take their retirement earnings with them if they change jobs.
In 2014, the Oklahoma Legislature required new state employees to enroll in a defined-contribution plan. The state’s two largest universities also have optional plans.