4 Comments

So true. I’m now a retired professor and I plan to move my entire STRS account funds into my Fidelity account. I don’t trust them.

Expand full comment

Unfortunately, SSA's COLA adjustments are woefully inadequate. We're 72. our costs are up about 20% this year (and some prices have gone up by 50%). COLA for 2024 isn't coming close to that.

COLA adjustments should be month-by-month, and should keep up with actual price increases. If some prices occasionally go down (such as the notoriously volatile energy prices), then lower the adjustment.

Also--gambling on the stock market is no way to fund retirement. We need a better way than to (figuratively) roll the dice and feed more money to the already-bloated and far too powerful finance sector. This is especially true in the light of recent studies of portfolio management. Bonds no longer have a place in a portfolio (and never really did) and the latest advice is that target-date funds should be avoided. "Sorry if you wasted your money by listening to our advice.."

We need a better way.

Expand full comment

Even the New York State and Local pension system has no COLA growth. Of course this is unlike Social Security which adjusts to real living cost increases. Seems this provision reduces need for capital and investment returns. Better fund your self managed retirement accounts.

Expand full comment

As a retired STRS member, I still don't understand the financial rationale for getting rid of the COLA policy. The reason it didn't seem likely to be a long-term problem for the system is that the COLA was (and still is, when we get it) based on the original pension amount: it was not compounded over the years like, say, the Social Security COLA. I also have no understanding of the current uproar over the STRS Board. Members get zero information about this; well, just sound-bite statements from candidates for election to the Board. Because ... who would provide members enough information that we might be able to judge the merits vs the dangers of a reasonable COLA policy? The news media?!? Right.

Expand full comment