Former Republican party presidential candidate Governor Rick Perry speaks during a pro-life event called "Treasure Life" at the Tampa Aquarium in Tampa, Florida on August 28, 2012. The Republican National Coalition for Life and FRC Action's event, "Treasure Life," honored the pro-life contributions of the former Republican party presidential candidates Sen. Rick Santorum, Rep. Michele Bachmann and Gov. Rick Perry for their advocacy for every stage of life, from conception to natural death. AFP PHOTO/MLADEN ANTONOVMLADEN ANTONOV/AFP/GettyImages

Was Rick Perry a good governor of Texas? More narrowly, but more important from the viewpoint of this blog, was Rick Perry a good governor for the retired teachers of Texas?

                                       The negatives

Rick Perry was the governor of Texas from 2000 to 2013. (Actually his term will continue until 2014) During his terms of office Texas' retired teachers have received only one cost of living adjustment and that was in the last session. The result is that Texas retired teachers have lost one third of their buying power since 2001.

During a large part of the governor's term he allowed the state contributions to fall to the minimum of  six per cent. A  plethora of studies have shown that the single biggest factor in the proper funding of retirement funds is the state contribution. Had the state contributed more than the minimum the fund might actually been fully funded now.

A third negative for Governor Perry is the lack of leadership shown by Governor Perry on issues important to retired teachers. I realize there are many issues that compete for the governor's attention but the governor chooses which issues to concentrate on and for whatever reason Governor Perry showed little leadership or even interest in retired teachers.

                                      The Positives

The positives of Governor Perry's terms mainly are related to the powerful performance of the Texas economy. This, at least in my opinion, has to count in the Governor's favor since, in addition to our  being retired educators, we are citizens of the Lone Star state. 

First is the unemployment rate. The unemployment rate in Texas is only 6.5 percent while the unemployment rate nationwide is 7.6 percent. The more people employed the more consumed and the more revenue for the state. Not only is this good for the people who now have a job but also for the TRS fund as the state will now have more funds to pay into the fund.

A second positive for the governor's record is the low cost of living. This means that our cost of living at least remained reasonable, even if we didn't get a cost of living adjustment. 

A final positive for the Governor is that the pay for teachers actually went up faster than inflation during his term. Since contributions to the TRS  fund are based on total teacher payroll, the more pay for teachers, the better for the TRS fund.


                                            The Conclusion

Since this blogger was in the education business I'll give my conclusions about Governor Perry in the form of a grade. In terms of what he did for the Texas retired teachers I would give him a D, In terms of his overall grade as a governor of Texas I would give him a B . 


                                              Your Turn.

So what do you think?

Was Rick Perry a good governor for Texas Retired teachers?

Was he a good governor of Texas?

If he ran again, would you have voted for him?

To leave your comments just scroll to the bottom of this page and click on "comments" and leave your opinion. Thanks in advance 







  

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Getting Better Not Older

              

              Are you getting better or just older. Well if you're like me it depends on the day. Eric Pfeiffer in his book Winning Strategies for Successful  Aging says we can get better as we get older but we must have goals and strategies to get better as we age.

                     Author's thesis: Pfeiffer says that " in this book you will learn that you probably have years and years to live after you reach 65, in which to enjoy yourself and to accomplish things you have had to postpone until now". The question is will you use those years wisely. Pfeiffer carries out his thesis  in a way that will be familiar to those of us retired teachers who have ever written a curriculum guide, he has a goal in each chapter that will help us to age gracefully and then he lists strategies to reach that goal. Pfeiffer divides this into pragmatic goals, health goals and what he refers to as spiritual goals.

          Pragmatic goals. The author writes that one important goal is to choose your ideal place to live . Pfeiffer's strategies include determining whether we want to age in place( stay in our present home), move to another state or  country, or move to a retirement community. The author suggests that if we choose to age in place we should start now think about how to make the house "age proof" by ,for example, putting grab bars in the bathroom.  The choice to move somewhere else may come from a sense of adventure , a desire to escape the climate where one now lives, or to be near children ( or away from them). This blogger's views are that the author is correct that anyone planning to move to a new state or country should first spend some time in that state or country. I have spent the large part of the last three years in a foreign country ( the Philippines) and while there is much to be said for the experience of living abroad, there is also a need to  learn to be very adaptable. As for a retirement community, I would have to grab a gun and mask and rob a couple of stores  to afford them.

           A second pragmatic goal covered by the author is "do you have the money to allow you to age gracefully"? The author suggests the retiree should divide his money into lifetime money and non-lifetime money. Examples of  lifetime income include social security and pensions. Of course in the case of retired Texas teachers most of us have either little or no social security , and so our guaranteed lifetime income is our TRS pension. Examples of non-lifetime income are defined contributions plans such as 403B. Pfeiffer suggests turning the non-guaranteed income into lifetime income by putting at least some of the 403B type of  investment into an immediate annuity that guarantees a lifetime income. Further strategies recommended include keeping taxes low and finding a financial adviser. My only disappointment with Mr. Pfieffer 's recommendations was his failure to mention index funds which cover the entire market, such as Vanguards Total Stock Market Index . I would also suggest visiting a website called Bogleheads www.bogleheads.org. This site provides a forum where a bunch of very intelligent guys and gals answer your questions about investment for free. Why pay for advice? No I have no financial connection to Vanguard except I wish that site would have been around when I was young and I might actually have some money myself.

 Health. Good health is a prerequisite for successful aging. That's how Pfeiffer begins the first of three chapters on health. He writes that our first strategy must be to take charge of our own health by knowing our vital numbers such as cholesterol , blood pressure and blood sugar and keeping them under control. A second strategy is to learn about a healthy diet and follow that diet. In addition he gives the advice we have all heard that we need to get up off the couch and get on the move. He suggests we need to get some exercise every day and recommends walking and a pedometer so we will know the number of steps. Though I am a committed jogger, I think he is right that walking may be the best exercise as we age .

The chapter on brain health is particularly interesting and useful. Pfeiffer is a genuine pioneer  in the field of the brain and aging. His strategies for maintaining brain age as we age is to exercise our brains. His examples of exercising our brains include learning a new language, learning a new dance step( I think I'll skip that as I have always been a threat to the health of the feet of any lady kind enough to dance with me), learn the art of tai chi and read, read, read. He also discusses Alzheimer's and has in the book The Seven Warning Signs of Alzheimer's  which he himself created. The warning signs are listed on page 121 of  Successful Aging.

Relationships.  Dr.Pfeiffer instructs us to make our relationships a high priority. Numerous studies have shown our relationships play an essential role in successful aging. The author writes that if we are married that is the most important relationship and we need to work on that relationship. His strategies for successful relationships include belonging to a church , volunteer work or joining a group. 

sex: OK now that I have your attention, Dr Pfeiffer assures us that we can engage in sex into our 70's 80's or even 90's. I guess this is indeed  good news about aging but I still think the news that coffee and chocolate is good for us is even better news. He also has a section on sex in nursing homes which put images in my mind I could have done without. 

Maintaining our independence: I suspect one of the greatest fears we have of aging is we will become dependent on others and lose our sense of  independence. Dr. Pfeiffer's strategies for keeping out independence is don't take unnecessary chances such as climbing on the roof or ladders. I felt some degree of trepidation after reading this as I had just got off the roof . Another strategy is to foolproof your home.

I hope I have given you some idea of the flavor of this book so you will want to take a bigger taste. I do believe the strategies mentioned in this book  will help us age successfully. 

                   Your Turn

 Thanks for reading. I would love to have your opinions. What are your goal and strategies for successful aging.? What are your thoughts on living to 100? Just scroll down to the bottom and click on comments.

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Retired Teachers and the 2013 Texas Legislature

                Hide all the women and children, the Texas legislature  is in session. O.K.,so this is an old and maybe not so funny, and besides the session is now over; so did  the Texas legislature  help or hurt  Texas retired teachers this session? It all depends on the viewpoint.                      

                               Just The Facts Mam,

  1. So if I may paraphrase Sgt Joe Friday, the protagonist of one of my favorite shows of the fifties, " Lets just look at the facts" from the recent legislature. The Legislature through Senate Bill 1458 , now signed into law by Governor Perry, gave a three percent cola to teachers who retired before 2004 .  This is, as most of us know, the first cost of living adjustment for any retirees since 2001. The adjustment is limited to a maximum of $100 per month. 

   2. The state contribution was raised from the minimum of 6 per cent  in 2012 and 2013 to 6.9 per cent in 2014 and 7.4 percent in 2015. 

    3. Active teachers contribution was increased. The contribution was increased to 6.4 percent in 2014, 6.7 percent in 2015, 7.2 in 2016 and 7.7 per cent in 2017.

    4. Active teachers who are not vested, five years or less of service, will need to wait until 62 to receive their full annuity. They will receive a 5 per cent reduction for each year they retire before 62. The rule of 80 remains in effect for those with five or more years in TRS.
                                               
                                        

                           The Good The Bad And The Ugly          

      OK, so there's no bad and even no ugly since I didn't post my photo, but there  are some parts of these changes that could have been much better , in the humble opinion  of this blogger.

     The Good: The cost of living increase for the teachers who retired before 2004 is certainly good. Many of these retirees have been struggling for quite some time as their spending power has decreased by one third since 2001 due to inflation. A second  good result of the recent changes is the increased contribution from the state will move the fund toward being "actually sound". More about this "actuarily sound"  in a moment.      

      

      

    The maybe not so good :  Though I see much good in this legislation as mentioned above I don't have as sanguine an opinion as my favorite organization , the Retired Teachers Association www.trta.org.  Some of my questions follow. Was the choice to base the cost of living on a year, such as 2004, the fairest choice. For example a superintendent who retired before 2004 and is receiving a six figure annuity will receive a cost of living adjustment while a secretary who retired in 2005 and makes $ 15,000 will not get an increase. Could not a more fair system have been found such as  a 2 percent increase for those who retired before 2004 and one per cent for those who retired after 2005. That way everyone would at least get some increase. Another maybe not so good is the increased contribution from the state. I agree that the increased state contribution is a good thing but what is preventing the state from returning to the minimum contribution in the next biennium as they have done before. And, by the way, we are told this will move the TRS fund toward being "actually sound". So I'm puzzled about this term " actuarily sound" since the TRS website www.trs.state.tx.us
says that the fund has sufficient funds to last until 2068. If that's not" actuarily sound "then what is ?

                                              Your Turn 

OK you've heard enough from me. I would love to hear your comments, agreements, disagreements and corrections Just scroll down below and click on comments and leave your thoughts. Thanks in advance.

  Just for fun trivia: Who sang the 1950's hit song" How Much is That Dogie in the Window" . If you answer correctly, I unfortunately can't give you a prize, but you'll know you're smarter than a fifth grader.      

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Texas Retired Teachers and the Elections

       
         Are you ready for some hardball? OK, so hank Williams Jr. said football, not hardball but hardball may be the sport retired teachers need to play during this election season. So what do I mean by playing hardball?

         I first heard the term hardball used by Richard Nixon, who was himself  quoting Franklin Roosevelt.  Roosevelt said that in politics we must play hardball, meaning"reward our friends and punish our enemies".  In a political context that means vote for your friends. I'm a pretty consensus kind of guy and don't like to think about enemies but  I do think we need to vote for our friends: but first we have to find out who our friends are.

                                            How Do We Find Our Friends?

            The current  general election season  is the perfect time to find out who our friends are.  My suggestion is that we should go to the candidate forums and have a list of questions for the candidates. Our best friends, TRTA , may have some suggested questions on their website www.trta.org . I have not seen such a list though, so here are my suggested question                         

             1. Are you aware that Texas Retired  teachers do not have any  automatic cost of living adjustment and have not received any cost of living adjustment since 2001. This means that retired teachers have lost 30 per cent of their purchasing power since 2001, putting some at the poverty level
          
             2. If you believe that this situation should be corrected , are you willing to raise the state contribution to give the teachers some relief?

             3. What other legislation or ideas do you have to rectify the cost of living situation for Texas retired teachers?

             4. Are you aware that Texas teachers do not pay into Social Security or receive social security but  have a defined benefit retirement program . Some have suggested changing the defined
benefit plan be changed to a defined contribution plan where Texas teachers will be completely dependent on their own knowledge of investments to fund their retirement. Do you favor changing the current  defined benefit plan to a defined contribution plan? 

                                                             What Do We Do With This Information?

        After we have the answers to out questions, what can we do with those answers ? Here are some suggestions:

               Write letters to your local newspapers and explain the issues concerning retired teachers and the candidates stand.

                 Work for a candidate. I have worked in many campaigns through the years and, believe me, they always look for and appreciate help. 

                   Go to your trta local meetings and share what you learned about the candidates stands and see if there are any other suggestions.

                                                                Your Turn:

                      Do you agree with the suggestions above about playing "hardball?

                     Do you have any other issues you think the candidates for office should address? 


                       Just scroll to the bottom and click on comments. a screen will appear for your comments. Thanks for reading and I look forward to your comments.     

                                             
                      

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Texas Retired Teachers , Defined Benefits, Defined Contributions And Social SecurityThree Proposed Reforms

                 Does the current Teacher Retirement system of Texas need reform? Apparently some politicians, journalists and other inquiring minds think so. The main purpose of this blog is to discuss the two main reform suggested: moving from the current defined benefit plan to a defined contribution plan and moving the retired teacher system into social security.

                                         The Current TRS defined benefit Plan


            The current retirement plan for Texas Retired Teachers is a defined benefits plan. www.investopedia.com/terms/d/definedbenefitspensionplan.asp The defined benefit plans are a promise of a defined amount of pension for life based on a  predetermined formula. In the case of the Texas retirement system the formula is to multiply the number of years paid into the system by 2.3 and then multiplying the average of the three highest salaries by that number. Lets say a teacher had taught for thirty years ; multiply thirty by 2.3 and you get 69; lets further suppose this retired teacher had an average of $ 50,000 for their three highest years; multiply that number by .69 and you get $34,000 for our fictional teachers lifetime pension. You probably already know the average retired Texas teacher makes quite a bit less. Though the purpose of this blog is descriptive and not persuasive I will reveal that this  current TRS defined benefit plan, with some tweaking, is my choice. Now, onward to the proposed alternatives.

                              The Defined Contribution Alternative

        Some state legislators and political commentators  such as  Bill King, Houston business man and occasional Houston Chronicle columnist. www.billkingblog.com have suggested that future the TRS be changed from a defined benefits plan to a defined contribution plan. What would that mean?  Well, rather than a guaranteed lifetime amount, the retired teacher's final retirement amount would be based on the amount of contributions made by the teacher( with possible contribution from their school district) and how well or ,how poorly,  these  investments chosen by the retired teacher or at least those choices allowed by their district, perform over their active career in education, very much like the 403B plan most of us are familiar with. Obviously the investor ( teacher) would need to educate themselves about investing, which would require not only an interest in investing, but probably some aptitude for investing as well. My speculation is that under this system, some retirees would be better off, some about the same and some worse off, maybe a lot worse off.
                                  Moving To Social Security


    A second reform mentioned is that Texas would move all the teachers out of the TRS and join the social security system. www.ssa.edu.  Would this be good for  future teacher retirees? Probably not.  The average social security recipient receives $18,000  while the average TRS annuitant makes $ 32,000, so although I was not a math major, I think I know enough math to recognize a bad deal when I see it. However, if retired teachers go another decade without a cost of living adjustment then the Social Security option might  start looking better. I also think a case could be made for changing Social Security into a true retirement system by requiring that all Americans including members of Congress join the system and assuring that all American workers  receive a pension worth 80 % of their working salary. However that's a topic for a future blog.

                                 Your Turn


     I would really love to have your opinion on:

     1. Do you favor keeping the current defined benefit TRS system or one of the reforms.


    2. Is there another reform you would favor?


   3. Another comment you would care to make?






      Just scroll to the bottom, click on comments and a space will magically appear for your comment Thanks for reading.

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The pensions of Texas legislators and the pensions of retired Texas teachers

                 The Face book page of the Texas Retired teachers Association www.face book.com/pages/TRTA-Texas-Retired-Teachers -Association/126989714019649 recently posted an article from USA Today describing how state legislators pass laws to give themselves lucrative pensions. In the case of the Texas Legislature, the House and Senate passed a law tieing their pensions to the salary of state judges, and then in the intervening years raised judges salaries from $42,000 to $125000, and thus  have now guaranteed themselves a retirement pension of $125,000 per year. By way of contrast the average retired Texas teacher receives a pension of  $ 30,000.

              This obviously reflects poorly on the legislatures' sense of equity and openness. Perhaps the old joke is true that" no man's life or property is safe as long as the Texas Legislature is in session". Should something be done to correct this accumulative abuse of power? Absolutely! Would this make us feel better? Probably! However this would do little to improve the problems of retired teachers in areas where  laws could ameliorate those problems. Instead we need to insure we have clear goals , and strategies  to reach those goals, in order to persuade the public and the legislature to favor our cause.

                                              Goals


         1. Cost of Living Adjustment. As most of us are well aware retired Texas Teachers have not received a cost of living adjustment since 2001. Although, fortunately, the inflation rate has been low the past couple of years, the inflation rate has still averaged three% for the decade, meaning a teacher who retired in 2001 with an annuity of $ 30,000 now has the equivalency of $20,000 in spending power. Ten more years without a COLA and the same inflation rate would leave the same retiree with $ 10,000 in spending power. I, therefore, believe that a COLA is the most pressing problem facing retirees. However there are others that the legislature needs to adjust such as:


          2. TRS Care. The TRS Care program for retirees is currently serving 212,000 retirees, their spouses and their beneficiaries. Unfortunately the program is funded on a pay as you go basis meaning each  session of the legislature must declare the funding is available for the next biennium. The fund is currently due to run out of funds by 2014. Some form of permanent funding must be created  quickly. These two problems must be addressed at the state level but some others must be addressed at the national level, such as:


      3. WEP and the Offset  The U.S. Congress passed two laws referred to by the acronyms WEP and the offset. One of these laws limits the amount of Social Security a TRS retiree can draw by up to two-thirds, while the other prevents the spouse of the retiree from drawing any of his/her social security.


   4. Paying TRS Care premium pretax. One of the benefits enjoyed by many workers including those still employed by school districts is the premiums for health care are paid pretax ; a benefit not currently enjoyed by TRS annuitants. To illustrate, a current TRS retiree might be receiving a pension of $35,000 and paying $4,500 a month in TRS Care premiums. Under current laws the TRS annuitant must pay taxes on all $35,000. If Congress were to change the tax laws to give TRS retirees the pretax befit of most employees, the retiree in the previous example would only have to pay taxes on $30,500 of their pension, rather than on the entire $35,000. This would be a nice bit of relief for most retirees.


  5. You may be aware that Medicare has frozen their premiums the past two years because social security recipients did not receive a cost of living adjustment. Guess who did get an increase in their medicare premiums. Well, yours truly for one. When I called Medicare to inquire about my increase I was told that Congress only exempted Social Security recipients. I explained that in Texas teachers did not have a social security option and not only did we miss a cost of living  adjustment in 2010, like social security recipients, but Texas teacher retirees had not had a cost of living adjustment since 2001! After some weak attempt at sympathy I was told that nothing could be done because Congess' action only dealt with Social security; so my medicare premiums are now$110 rather than $ 96. So we are basically punished for not being part of a system we were not allowed to join.


 6. In a future blog I will suggest some strategies I believe will help reach some of these goals.




             Your Turn.  


   Please give your thoughts on the goals mentioned. Which of the goals do you consider most important ?Are there other goals you think we should push for that were not mentioned?

             How To Comment:


   Just scroll to the bottom of this page; click on comments and a box will open for your comments. Thanks in advance for your participation.

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Retired Teachers: Finding a Way to Use All That New Time

          Some of you may remember the old Hank Williams song If You Got The Money Honey I Got The Time. Well in retirement we may or may not have the money but we do have some new found time. How could we use that new found time? Well we could tell our spouse what to do but the only  use of time that would provide is the time building the dog house we would soon be living in. A more productive pursuit might be to find a hobby, voluntary  activity or part-time work. The purpose of this blog is to provide some ideas concerning hobbies or part-time work using a career personality survey called the Self Directed Search. www.self-directed-search.org

                                                     What Is The Self Directed Search


                One man deserves credit for the Self Directed Search: Dr. John Holland. Dr. Holland is a professor of psychology at Johns Hopkins University and one of the nations preeminent career counselors. He developed the theory of the Self Directed Search while working as a classification specialist with the U.S. Army. Dr. Holland concluded that there are six basic personality types and six work environments and that by matching the personality with the work environment , one could help career searchers and those searching for college majors choose a satisfying career. The tests and surveys based on these personality types( Dr. Holland called them codes) have become the widest career counseling tools in the world. So what are these six types? Glad you asked; here they are:

          Realistic
       
          Investigative

          Social

          Artistic

          Enterprising

          Conventional




    Realistic:  Realistics are people who prefer what they consider the real world, the world they can see hear, smell , touch and feel. They like to work outdoors or with their hands. They usually like sports and are often quite good at them. Their favorite T. V. shows might include Extreme House Makeover and any sports shows.


   Possible hobbies and jobs for Realistics:
   gardening, landscaping, woodworking, golf, tennis work at Home Depot or Lowes, teach a physical skill.


 Investigative: Investigative types usually like math and science and enjoy solving problems. Favorite T. V shows CSI; House


 POSSIBLE HOBBIES AND JOBS: 
  Webb designing, math and science tutor, work in electronic stores like Best Buy and Frys , detective


 Artistic: Artistic types not surprisingly , are creative and like music the visual arts or writing. Favorite T.V shows: Glee, American Idol


 Possible hobbies or jobs: square dancing or Latin dancing, writing classes, learn to play a musical instrument, freelance writing, dance or art teacher, photography


Social: Social types enjoy working with people and also excel usually at mentoring and teaching. They are also good team players. Favorite T. V. shows: Dr. PHIL, Oprah


Possible jobs and hobbies. teaching,tutoring, any retail work that is service related, church worker, volunteering in hospital


 Enterprising: Enterprising types like to be in responsible positions, are good decision makers, and are action oriented. They also are often good at speaking to groups. Favorite T.V.shows: Donald Trumps Apprentice


 Possible jobs and hobbies: Toastmasters , sales, speak to groups about jobs, start their own business announce sporting events for school


Conventional: Conventional types like to use organizational or clerical skills. They are usually very good at detail work and math. Favorite T. V. show: Numbers


Possible jobs or hobbies: Helping others with income tax or budgeting, cooking, working in bank, helping people organize




                          Your TURN


1. Which of the Holland personality types are you and does it fit with any of your work history or hobbies?


2. How do you spend or plan to spend your extra time in retirement?


3. Any other comment you wish to make as long as it's not a personal attack or overly political.


4. To comment, just click on "comments" below and a screen will appear for your comments

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