Wednesday, April 21, 2010

My Retirement Is Safe

I received my (quarterly?) California State Teachers Retirement newsletter today, and what interesting tidbit did I find in it on pp 10-11?

Current retirement benefits--and the future benefits of those now working in the classroom--are protected by the California and U.S. Constitutions.


Really? I'd like to know exactly which section of the US Constitution has any relationship to my retirement benefits.

Let's skip a bit, though, and read more:

Your retirement, disability and survivor benefits are guaranteed. The State of California is the guarantor of the benefits payments...Your CalSTRS Defined Benefit does not change with the ups and downs of the economy. It is based on your age, final compensation and years of service credit at retirement.


Given California's current economic situation and outlook, I'm not sure I should rest so easy.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

"I'd like to know exactly which section of the US Constitution has any relationship to my retirement benefits."

I'm pretty sure that you can do anything you want with the interstate commerce clause :-).

"Given California's current economic situation and outlook, I'm not sure I should rest so easy."

Well, yeah. If the money JUST ISN'T THERE, how doe the state guarantee help? It isn't like the state can keep residents from fleeing and then raise taxes to the moon to cover the shortfall. I don't have any constructive suggestion, but I'm pretty sure that *DEPENDING* on getting paid 100% of your expected pension is quite risky.

-Mark Roulo

KauaiMark said...

Is Calif too big to fail? I guess time will tell.

allen (in Michigan) said...

One word - Greece.

Mike Thiac said...

Don't worry Darren. We'll take from Obama's stash!