Blog

Executive Summary:

• Use our Action Alert to contact your legislators.
• Our goal is to #RAISETHEBASE funding for the TRS pension fund and TRS-Care.
• Better funding is the path to a benefit increase and lower health care costs.

The Texas Retired Teachers Association (TRTA) has been working closely with legislators in both the Texas Senate and House to make progress on its robust legislative agenda.

Above all, TRTA wants legislators to know that it’s time to raise the base funding for both the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) pension fund and the TRS-Care retiree health insurance program.

TRTA members, we need your help to spread this message to every office in the Texas Legislature!

CLICK HERE TO SEND AN ACTION ALERT

Already, the Texas Senate has filed numerous bills that would impact TRS retirees in a positive way.

TRTA wrote about Senator Joan Huffman’s (R – Houston) bill, SB 393, in this Inside Line article. During the Senate Finance Committee meeting held on February 11, Sen. Huffman reviewed the TRS pension fund in detail, and discussed how it would take a $1.6 billion increase in state funding each biennium to make up for the lowered rate of return assumption approved by TRS last year. SB 393 would increase contributions into the fund, generating the funding necessary to make up for the change by increasing funding from three sources: the state, school districts and active educators.

Many other bills that would impact TRS retirees in a positive manner have been filed and TRTA is working on bill analysis of them all now.

How TRTA Members Can Help!

TRTA is encouraging its members to communicate with their fellow retirees that good things can happen and a positive outcome is possible! Legislators are working for you! TRTA members have been actively communicating with elected officials. Now, the legislators are in session, and many of them are thinking about the retirees and want to help. Let’s get behind these efforts in a positive way! Let’s work with a belief that good things are possible and will happen for TRS retirees.

TRTA is encouraging its members to contact legislators on social media with the hashtag #RAISETHEBASE! You can find your legislators on Facebook and Twitter by doing a search for their first and last name. Not sure who your state legislators are? Click here to do a search by address. You can also search for the legislators via the Texas Tribune’s directory, which contains links to their social media pages. Let them know how excited you are about the opportunity to increase the state funding for the TRS pension fund and be sure to use the #RAISETHEBASE hashtag!

Be sure to click here and send an email to your elected officials encouraging them this session and asking them to support the TRTA agenda to #RAISETHEBASE for TRS programs and find a way to help improve TRS retiree benefits!

Executive Summary:

• The Senate Finance Committee received testimony from TRS and TRTA
• View TRTA’s presentation to the legislators here.
• Use #RAISETHEBASE when communicating with legislators on social media.

The Senate Finance Committee met yesterday to discuss the status of the retiree pension fund and health care program. The committee received testimony from the Teacher Retirement System (TRS) of Texas as well as stakeholder groups, including the Texas Retired Teachers Association’s (TRTA) Executive Director, Tim Lee.

TRS reviewed the changes to the rate of return assumption that occurred in August 2018. TRS lowered the rate of return assumption from 8 percent to 7.25 percent. While the drop in rate of return assumption won’t impact the current amount that retirees are receiving, it will impact the potential for future cost-of-living increases.

TRS answered a variety of questions from the committee about this change. Sen. Joan Huffman (R – Houston) reviewed the change in detail, and discussed how it would take a $1.6 billion increase in state funding each biennium to make up for the lowered rate of return assumption. Huffman has proposed a bill, SB 393, which would increase contributions into the pension fund. SB 393 would generate the funding necessary to make up for the change by increasing funding from three sources: the state, school districts and active educators.

If SB 393 or a similar bill were to pass, the pension fund’s unfunded liabilities would be reduced to 19 years. With this type of influx in funding, the door would be open for Texas to provide a cost-of-living increase for retirees.

TRTA would like to see the state increase its base funding for the pension fund. Among non-mandatory Social Security states, Texas ranks last in its funding for the pension fund. TRS is the 13^thlargest pension fund in the world. The state of Texas increasing its funding for the TRS pension fund would be a boon to retirees. Retirees live on modest fixed incomes, and 96 percent of Texas school districts don’t pay into Social Security. TRTA is encouraging its members to use #RAISETHEBASE when communicating with legislators on social media to raise awareness of this issue.

TRTA Executive Director Tim Lee explained the necessity of adding funding for the TRS pension fund and more permanent funding for TRS-Care. TRS-Care has another shortfall; and while the current shortfall–$214 million–is smaller than in previous years, a larger shortfall looms again in the next biennium that could reach $1 billion if nothing is done to address the program’s permanent funding structure.

“Health care is eating us alive with these costs,” Lee said of retirees’ plight.

You may view Lee’s presentation here.

It will be critical for the Legislature to address TRS-Care’s long-term solvency if it wants to avoid a repeat of last session’s additional burden to retiree health care costs.

Lee discussed both funding issues for the health care plan and the pension fund on his weekly “Facebook Friday” episode, which is available here. Be sure to tune every Friday in as Lee addresses the latest updates on retiree issues during the 86^thLegislative Session.

Executive Summary:

• TRS provided testimony concerning the pension fund and TRS-Care.
• Use #RAISETHEBASE when communicating with legislators on Facebook and Twitter.
• The House Appropriations subcommittee has been formed.

The Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) provided an update on the state of the pension fund and retiree health insurance plan, TRS-Care, to the House Appropriations Committee today, Monday, February 4.

TRS Executive Director Brian Guthrie reviewed the change to the rate of return assumption. He discussed how the TRS board felt that the investment market dictated that the rate of return assumption be lowered to 7.25 percent. Since changing the rate of return assumption, the outlook for TRS paying off its unfunded liabilities has moved back from 32 years to 87 years.

The state requires TRS to have a funding period of 31 years or less to provide a cost-of-living increase for retirees. Rep. Lynn Stucky (R – Denton) inquired about what it would take for retirees to receive a cost-of-living increase.

Guthrie said that the state would need to pass a bill that would increase funding into the TRS pension fund by $1.6 billion for the biennium. Guthrie mentioned there were three primary funding sources the Legislature could pull from: the state, school districts and active teachers.

Texas, as compared to other states with non-mandatory Social Security, ranks last in funding for its retiree pension plan.

The Texas Retired Teachers Association (TRTA) is encouraging the Legislature to raise the state contributions to the pension fund. By raising the base, the door would open for retirees to receive a cost-of-living increase or other benefit enhancement. Many retirees have never received a cost-of-living increase during their retirement.

You can help participate in encouraging legislators to help us by including the hashtag #RAISETHEBASE when communicating with your legislators on Facebook and Twitter.

Guthrie also covered the changes that occurred to TRS-Care last session. He said that the health care program continues to be plagued by funding shortfalls. TRS-Care’s funding is based on active teacher payroll, which is not linked to the rising cost of health care.

Guthrie said that TRS has worked diligently on controlling TRS-Care’s costs, but he described it as “a losing battle.” The TRS testimony didn’t mention that the projected shortfall for TRS-Care in the next legislative session would be more than $1.4 billion. TRTA believes TRS-Care funding must be addressed, as this projected shortfall is even larger than the 2017 shortfall.

TRTA applauds the Legislature for adding the supplemental dollars to help fund the projected shortfall, and we are ready to work with the Legislature to find long-term solutions. TRS-Care needs a better funding plan for the future to reduce retiree costs.

Additionally, Guthrie discussed how TRS-Care had lost more than 36,000 members after the plan changes in 2017. Guthrie did state that the population size of TRS-Care’s participants had stabilized since the massive departure. The shortfall for TRS-Care this session sits at $230 million.

Legislators will go more in depth on how to improve the pension and TRS-Care in the Appropriations subcommittee (Article III), which was formed today.

Today’s committee meeting included invited testimony by state agencies only. Stay tuned to the Inside Line and our Facebook page to find out when TRTA Executive Director Tim Lee will testify on behalf of public education retirees.

The current House Bill 1, which includes the funding for TRS, proposes to maintain all programs, including TRS-Care. As such, HB1 proposes to fill the TRS-Care shortfall by adding $230 million into the program. The additional funding from the state would allow retirees participating in the program to maintain the current benefits structure. It would not make way for financial relief for those who suffered increased out-of-pocket expenses as a result of the changes to TRS-Care from last session.

Rep. Philip Cortez (D – San Antonio) expressed concern that the HB1 budget didn’t include increased benefits or lower costs for TRS-Care participants who were negatively impacted by last year’s changes.

The current version of HB1 also doesn’t include an increase in the base rate of funding for the TRS pension fund. TRS has submitted a request for the Legislature to make a 1.82 percent increase, which equates to approximately $1.6 billion.

Rep. John Zerwas (R – Richmond) serves as the Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, and he said that there would be a “deep dive” discussion of raising the base funding for TRS in the Article III Appropriations Sub-committee.

Already, there has been a bill, SB 393, filed that would address the need to increase the base funding for TRS. The Texas Retired Teachers Association (TRTA) believes that raising the base funding for the TRS pension plan should be one of the top priorities for legislators this session.

TRTA’s legislative committee is hard at work for you, as they are visiting elected officials. Reports are good that retirees are viewed as a high priority. Member involvement is critical early in session to set a positive tone and keep elected officials focused on our major priorities.

TRTA is encouraging its members to participate on social media with their legislators using the moniker #RAISETHEBASE. Let’s rally together to improve awareness of this issue! Many retirees have never received a cost-of-living increase during their retirement, and by raising the base funding for TRS, we can pave the way for a COLA or other benefit increase to occur!