We believe all Texas Teachers deserve a better retirement.
As teachers, many of our voices aren’t heard in retirement policy conversations. It’s time that changed.
Every day, Texas’ teachers are working hard to serve students and families. But at present, too many teachers’ voices are being left out of policy conversations that ultimately impact every educator—including decisions about teachers’ retirement benefits.
We are a group of teachers from across the state who came together to learn about their retirement benefits and propose better retirement policy solutions. We understand the significant challenges confronting the Teacher Retirement System of Texas and have established a set of principles and recommendations that center the needs of teachers to guide future policy decisions that impact TRS funding and benefits.
You've heard teachers in the past saying they want Cost of Living Adjustments and better funding. But we want more. We want fundamental change to how benefits are provided that account for the diverse needs of ALL Texas teachers, not just the 18% who make it to retirement - including choices of different benefit design and financial literacy education. Join us in advocating for a better retirement for all.
What you need to know about TRS:
18%
The percentage of teachers hired this year that will stay in the profession long enough to reach the TRS “normal retirement” age of 62 is expected to be about 18%.
This is an estimate from financial professionals hired by TRS itself. This means the pension system definitely can work for these individuals, but it doesn’t work for everyone.
$51 Billion
The funding shortfall for Texas TRS as of the end of 2020 has grown to $50.6 billion.
This is pension debt owed to TRS by the state legislature to ensure there will be enough money in the future to pay all pension benefits promised to public school educators.
2.
There have been 2 cost-of-living adjustments to pension benefits provided to retired Texas educators since 2001.
This means many retirees have seen the value of their pensions eroded over time by inflation. The design of Texas TRS does not include an automatic inflation adjustment, or the ability for members to pay a bit more when working to ensure they’ll get inflation adjustments. Retired educators are dependent on the state legislature adequately funding TRS.
Learn About Your Benefits
Understanding your retirement benefits is essential for planning for your financial future. Depending on your length of service, age, salary, and other factors, your Texas TRS benefits may or may not be adequate income in retirement.
Our Principles
Current Texas TRS benefits fall short for many of our state’s educators. Our working group of teachers decided it was time to define new retirement principles to guide future solutions for a TRS that works for all.
Take Action
Thousands of teachers and our allies will need to speak out to achieve a more equitable TRS. There’s many ways to make your voice heard.