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IEA releases member poll, with eye on major pension upgrade

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Illinois

* Click here for the poll results. Click here for crosstabs. Daily Herald…

As states across the nation struggle to staff schools, many Illinois teachers say they are considering leaving the profession, a recent poll shows.

The Illinois Education Association Tuesday released survey data showing nearly 60% of educators and support staff [IEA members only] have considered leaving their jobs. Pay, pension benefits and increasing workload are among the reasons cited for job dissatisfaction, according to the poll.

IEA President Al Llorens specifically noted the state’s two-tiered pension system, which requires teachers hired after Jan. 1, 2011, to work until age 67 for full benefits. Teachers hired before 2011 can retire at age 55.

“A majority of our members have thought about leaving their jobs,” Llorens said. “If there was any question why there’s a teacher and education support staff shortage, there should not be one now.”

* WGEM…

[IEA President Al Llorens] said the other major issues causing people to forgo teaching is the tiered pension system.

Teachers hired before 2011 are in Tier 1. They can get their full pension by age 55 if they’ve worked for at least 35 years, or by age 60. Tier 2 teachers can’t get their full pension until they’re 67.

“It’s simply not fair to have folks working right next to folks that are doing the same job but getting a reduced pension benefit,” Llorens said.

He said two solutions are eliminating Tier 2, making all teachers Tier 1 employees, and the state increasing education funding.

Organized labor is involved in a big push to upgrade Tier 2 pensions to the old Tier 1 plan, which was dropped partly because of its cost and because the state hadn’t been making sufficient payments.

The governor was asked about this idea last spring. Click here to read his response.

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Oct 11, 24 @ 1:48 pm

Comments

“Tier 2 teachers can’t get their full pension until they’re 67.”

Democrats had to go and do Republonomics, working past senior citizen age, when Quinn was on his divinely ordained pension reform mission. This needs to be changed.

Comment by Grandson of Man Friday, Oct 11, 24 @ 2:04 pm
Tier 2 needs to be fixed to meet safe harbor. BUt there’s no chance that everyone gets upgraded to Tier 1.

Also, the argument for making everyone Tier 1 undercuts their much beloved attachment to a salary schedule. I mean if you are newer teacher making $50 or $60k per year you are working next to someone making much much more doing the same work. Just like Tier 1 and Tier 2 people.

It is the perfect argument to get away from the salary schedule and collectively bargaining salaries.

Spoiler alert, I am not supporting the idea above just pointing out the contradiction.

Comment by JS Mill Friday, Oct 11, 24 @ 2:05 pm
The numbers for teachers leaving the classroom have always been high- wonder if IEA has turnover numbers predating 2011-my recollection is nearly half the teaching population exits early- were the numbers dramatically different pre and post 2011- sounds like just an excuse to kill the reforms- maybe Al hasn’t spent much time researching Illinois’s long term fiscal outlook- JB can claim the State under his management is thriving but long term things are not much different since he was elected

Comment by Sue Friday, Oct 11, 24 @ 2:24 pm
Public education the lowest turnover rate of any profession measured by the BLS. Decade after decade, through booms and busts, whatever the turnover rate is in public education, every other industry is multiples higher, without fail.

The mass exodus of teachers predicted at the onset of the pandemic never happened. Many unions, not just IEA, have released the same surveys claiming large percentages of their members were considering resigning. We have yet to see any of these studies come to fruition. And there is zero evidence Tier 2 pensions are the root cause of the few who do quit.

According to TRS, the normal cost of a teacher’s Tier 1 pension is now over 15%. That almost double what it was just ten years ago. And we’re supposed to go back to that?

Comment by City Zen Friday, Oct 11, 24 @ 2:28 pm
As a parent, i do not want people teaching until they are 67 for the same reason I do not want people being police or fighfighters until they are 67.

While there are exceptions, most cannot do the work, especially at the elementary and middle school level.

Anyone who’s ever had one of these retired teachers in their 60’s come back and serve as a substitute teacher for any extended period of time knows exactly what I mean.

Illinois schools are competing not just with other states, but with other occupations for teachers. The trade-off for public sector work has always been lower pay in exchange for long-term security: employment, health and retirement.

That equation is broken if people just cannot see themselves sticking it out for 45 years in the same classroom behind the same desk.

Pritzker is paying his own staff much more in order to attract the best and the brightest. Students, many would argue, deserve the same.

Comment by Stanley Hornbottom Friday, Oct 11, 24 @ 2:30 pm
I’m for expanding Tier 2 benefits, but it should be done by creating an optional program in which employees pay extra for expanded benefits, like an earlier retirement age.

The original pension math — even if the government doesn’t skip payments — is hard to work out because retirees live much, much longer than anyone conceived when pensions were first established.

Comment by Telly Friday, Oct 11, 24 @ 2:33 pm
Rich, the proposes Tier 2 fix doesn’t put everyone back into Tier 1. As I understand it, us Tier 2 folks wouldn’t get the compounded COLA. It would be a better COLA, but not compounded. Also the retirement ages are a little different.

Comment by Matt Friday, Oct 11, 24 @ 3:33 pm
Unruly students and unsupportive, if not threatening, parents are the reason many younger teachers leave. Retirement isn’t really in their heads when they start, it’s just not something they think about for several years.

Comment by Grimlock Friday, Oct 11, 24 @ 3:38 pm
===He said two solutions are eliminating Tier 2, making all teachers Tier 1 employees, and the state increasing education funding.===

60.
30.
1.

Comment by Anyone Remember Friday, Oct 11, 24 @ 3:46 pm
Bring back tier1. Teacher shortage in Illinois will be greatly reduced.

Comment by Dupage Friday, Oct 11, 24 @ 3:49 pm
We are dealing with the Tier 1/2 issue in our district with contract negotiations. The salary schedule in my district stops at 23 steps. The Tier 1 members want more on the base. The Tier 2 members want more steps.

Comment by Two Left Feet Friday, Oct 11, 24 @ 3:49 pm
==Rich, the proposes Tier 2 fix doesn’t put everyone back into Tier 1.==

It’s the first step. They’re smart enough to know proposing a complete Tier 1 shift is a non-starter. They’ve got 20-30 years before “career” teachers will begin to retire. Get a third of the way there today, then come back in 10 years for more.

Comment by City Zen Friday, Oct 11, 24 @ 3:54 pm
Isn’t there also a difference in pension pay-in for Tier 1 and 2? Or is that just Chicago where Tier 1 teachers only paid 2% into their own pension (with City paying 7% of their 9% contribution?).

Comment by Leslie K Friday, Oct 11, 24 @ 3:58 pm
As I understand it, the Tier 2 fix is to lower the retirement age. 62 would be fine. 55 was always too young, one of the problems that we started to see in the late 90’s was affordable insurance after retirement. The 90’s started a sustained period of large increases in the cost of health insurance. That was a primary driver of “pension spiking” for educators.

The pension is also not a primary driver of the teacher shortage based on other surveys (not conducted by the IEA) that I have read.

Comment by JS Mill Friday, Oct 11, 24 @ 4:00 pm