Joe Pagonakis, News 5 Cleveland: Ohio teachers, both current and retired, share concerns over STRS Ohio pension fund

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Ohio Teachers, both current and retired, share concerns about STRS Ohio pension fund

Ohio Retired Teachers Association continues call for reform after $5.3 billion in fund losses in 2022

By Joe Pagonakis
News 5 Cleveland

The announced $5.3 billion in STRS losses again had the Ohio Retired Teachers Association Executive Director Robin Rayfield demanding reform. Rayfield testified at the Feb. 14 State Board of Education meeting, calling for change on how STRS bonus benchmarks are determined. Rayfield has also asked for more investment transparency from STRS after he said it refused to release crucial documents on how it's investing teacher contributions.

“It’s an unequivocal fact that Ohio teachers have the worst pension deal in America," Rayfield said. “The loss wasn’t $3 billion it was $5.3 billion. So we pay bonuses before the numbers have been verified, then numbers come and they’re always worse and the bonuses have been paid.”

Watch Joe Pagonakis' report about STRS Ohio: https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/ohio-teachers-both-current-and-retired-share-concerns-over-strs-ohio-pension-fund

Watch ORTA Executive Director, Robin Rayfield., address the Ohio State Board of Education: https://www.ohiochannel.org/video/state-board-of-education-2-14-2023?start=2127&end=3079