MD teacher pension boost faces challenges

A proposal to shore up teacher pensions in Maryland is getting a mixed reaction from state lawmakers.

Negotiators in the General Assembly say they are hung up on the price tag of the union's proposal: more than $500 million annually. They also are weighing an independent analysis that questions the argument central to the teachers union's campaign.

"We need to improve teachers' pensions, which are the worst in the nation," Maryland State Teachers Association President Patricia A. Foerster tells listeners in radio ads. "Many educators are leaving Maryland schools or changing professions altogether."

By the union's measure, teachers in Maryland who retire after 30 years receive annual pension payments that equal about 38 percent of their salary, compared with 60 percent in neighboring Pennsylvania and a nationwide average of 57 percent.

But an analysis by a consulting firm hired by the legislature tells another story.

"They keep saying, 'We're last in the nation,' and that's not true, and that bothers me a little bit," said Del. Mary-Dulany James (D-Harford), the point person on pensions in the House. "We're actually in the middle."

When other factors, such as yearly cost-of-living adjustments and Social Security benefits are added to the mix, retired teachers and other state employees in Maryland take home slightly more than 80 percent of their final salary after 10 years in retirement, according to the actuarial firm Cheiron Inc.

That puts Maryland behind Pennsylvania and Virginia but ahead of the District and on common ground with states including Delaware and West Virginia. The study also found that teachers in Maryland contribute a smaller share of their salaries toward retirement than in all but seven other states.

David E. Helfman, executive director of the union, took issue with the assessment, which he said was based on unrealistic assumptions.

"They're wrong. Teachers don't retire and ask themselves, 'What will I be bringing in 10 years in the future?' " he said. "What's important is the benefit at retirement."