An overview of what education writers and journalists can learn from teacher pension plans

1. Finding Stories in Teacher Pension Data
Chad Aldeman
Education Writer’s Association, Fall 2018

2. What questions will this data help you answer in your state?
• How is school spending changing in my state?
• How is spending changing, across broad allocation categories?
• How are pension contributions changing in my state?
• How are educator salaries changing?
• How do today’s growth rates compare to historical precedents? Other
public-sector employees?
• What are the turnover rates for educators in your state?
• Are there differences by gender, between different professions, or
over time?

3. School Spending:
How is spending changing, across
broad allocation categories?

4. Where can reporters find this data?
• The Census Bureau collects state- and district-level spending
through its “Annual Survey of School System Finances.”
• It reports data on states and the largest school districts through its
annual “Public Education Finances” report.
• It also makes district-level data available for download.

5. What are the limitations of this data?
• The data collection and cleaning processes can be slow.
• The Census Bureau does its best to sort the data into broad
categories, but that comes at the expense of unique local
differences.
• The data are available over a long time period, but that can take
multiple steps to compile.

6. The Census tables break down revenues by source as well
as expenditures by type.

7. The Census data allow for comparisons across jurisdictions
or over time, like this graph on spending by category.

8. Pension Contributions:
How are they changing in your
state?

9. Where can reporters find this data?
States Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports (CAFRs)
usually report the last 10 years of contribution data.
• Most states post multiple years of CAFRs, or pension plans should
be able to share those files.
• In the CAFR, try searching for “employer contributions” or
“contribution rates.”
• Some states also publish standalone pages, designed for
employers (school districts), on contribution rates over time.

10. What are the limitations of this data?
• Be careful to look at distinguish between the actual contribution
rate and the actuarially required contribution rate, what the plan’s
actuaries think it should pay in order to reach full funding.
• Contributions are divided into two pots, the amount of money
needed to cover benefits (called the “normal cost”) and money
needed to pay off unfunded liabilities (the “amortization cost.”).
• In some states, like Illinois, the state is responsible for paying the
contribution. In others, like Colorado, legislators set a contribution
rate that all districts must pay.
• This distinction can make state or district education budgets look
higher or lower than they really are.

11. Illinois’ pension contributions have tripled over the last 10
years. That money comes out of the state’s general fund.

12. Illinois’ Tier II is exceptionally bad. But nearly every state
has cut benefits for new workers.

13. Educator Salaries:
How are they changing in your
state?

14. Where can reporters find this data?
The NEA’s “Rankings and Estimates” report has average teacher
salaries by state going back decades (not all of it online).
• NCES uses the NEA data and reports it for various years.
• But averages are subject to changes in the underlying population.
• That is, if a district replaces a 30-year veteran teacher with a
1st-year rookie, the “average” will decline.
• At the national level, the teacher workforce is less experienced
than it used to be, which artificially depresses the average.

15. A better way would show how teacher salary schedules
have changed over time, like this graph on Chicago.

16. At the state level, pension plans offer another way to go
beyond averages.
• Traditional defined benefit pension plans need to estimate how
fast salaries will grow in order to know how much they’ll receive in
future benefits.
• All plans publish tables on salary increases, adjusted for years of
experience.
• Plans periodically conduct “experience studies” to check their
assumptions.
• Typically, these are included in the plans’ “Comprehensive Annual
Financial Reports” under the “Actuarial Assumptions” section.

17. What are the limitations of this data?
• Most “teacher” pension plans usually include other types of
employees (e.g. principals and other education employees, or
even other state employees).
• The salary calculations in the “teacher” pension plan are reported
for the plan as a whole.
• Still, these are the state’s official estimates on educator salary
growth, and they’re used to make consequential financial
decisions.

18. How fast are educator salaries growing in your state?
• As an example, here is the state of
Illinois’ official assumptions.
• Read this as: Illinois expects a new
teacher to receive a salary increase
of 9.25% in their first year.
• This includes inflation and
advancement along step and lane
salary schedules.

19. The tables are updated regularly, which says something
about how salary growth today compares to the past.

20. Or, salary growth among education employees can be
compared to other groups of public employees.

21. Educator Turnover:
What are the turnover rates for
educators in your state?

22. Where can reporters find this data?
All plans publish “withdrawal” tables that are based on the
probability a teacher will leave in a given year, adjusted for years of
experience, age, and gender.
• Traditional defined benefit pension plans need to estimate how
long employees will stay in the plan in order to know how much
they’ll receive in future benefits.
• Plans periodically conduct “experience studies” to check their
assumptions.
• Typically, these are included in the plans’ “Comprehensive Annual
Financial Reports” under the “Actuarial Assumptions” section. Try
searching for “withdrawal” or “termination.”

23. What are the limitations of this data?
• Most states include other types of employees in their “teacher”
pension plan. They may or may not disaggregate the data across
those different classes of employees, and typically the results are
reported only as statewide figures.
• The data measure “withdrawal” from the state pension plan.
Teachers could leave their positions without “withdrawing” their
funds.
• Still, these are the state’s official estimates on educator turnover,
and they’re used to make consequential financial decisions.

24. What are your state’s retention rates?
• As an example, here is the state of
Illinois’ official assumptions for non-
Chicago teachers (TRS).
• Read this as Illinois expects 8.4%
of new, 25-year-old female teachers
to leave within their first year.
• These are annual turnover rates
that change as teachers progress to
new age or experience categories.

25. On a cumulative basis, about half of Illinois educators (TRS
system) leave within 10 years.

26. Illinois’ long-term retention rates look pretty similar to other
states.

27. Still, Illinois has been changing over time. It used to have
much higher turnover rates.

28. As a comparison, the state teacher system in Illinois (TRS)
has lower turnover than other public-sector plans.

29. What are other good sources of data?
• Aggregate pension plan data:
https://www.nasra.org/publicfundsurvey
• Disaggregated pension plan data: http://publicplansdata.org/
• The Urban Institute’s pension plan ratings:
http://apps.urban.org/features/SLEPP/index.html
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