Over the period of 40 years public sentiment in this country in favor of provisions for the comfort and security of aged groups has had a steady growth. The sentiment in favor of provisions for the retirement of public-school teachers is now so general that it is often felt unnecessary to include any consideration of the social and economic justice of such provisions. In order to meet the numerous demands upon the Office of Education for information concerning the principal problems of teacher retirement, the author has reviewed the major provisions of State-wide teacher retirement systems. The study has been limited to those phases on which information is most unusually requested, in the hope that it will be of help to persons interested in developing fair and practicable provisions for the security of those who have devoted a life-time to educational service. Typical teacher-retirement laws are appended. (Contains 5 footnotes.) [Best copy available has been provided.]