Number of Retiring California Teachers Dropped 10%

Mike Antonucci:

. The financial health of the California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) is much in the news these days, and that health is intertwined with the upcoming ballot initiative campaign to raise income and sales taxes in the state. So it's worth noting that the number of California public school teachers who retired in 2011 declined for the first time in five years, and by a hefty 10 percent.

The median retirement age is also climbing, from 61.2 in 2001 to 61.9 in 2011. California teachers are vested after five years, and can retire as early as age 55. Those retiring in 2011 had fewer median years of service (25.5) than any previous group of retirees in the last 10 years.

The good news for CalSTRS and the state budget is that with fewer years of service, the average 2011 retiree received less of a payout than the 2010 retiree ($168 per month less). The bad news is that the good news only postpones the inevitable. CalSTRS currently pays benefits to some 253,000 retired teachers and surviving family members. There are more than 603,000 teachers who still work or have worked in the public schools and will be eligible for pensions when they retire.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at May 11, 2012 1:35 AM
Subscribe to this site via RSS/Atom: Newsletter signup | Send us your ideas