Teacher benefits, once a sleepy question primarily of interest to actuaries, have become a flash point in the education debate. With individual states on the hook for tens or hundreds of millions in unfunded pension and health insurance obligations, state leaders are trying to determine the severity of the situation and the appropriate response.…

A recent survey of the 50 states showed a wide variation in buy-back provisions for emigrating teachers who wish to apply prior service from another state toward their pension plan in the state to which they have moved. A chart shows the number of years of buy-back allowed and the specific requirements for claiming them in each of the states,…

The aging of New York State's population poses both a challenge and an opportunity for the major institutions of society. The challenge facing educators is to develop a comprehensive strategy to mobilize the capacity of the educational system to address the multiple needs of an aging population in the context of existing social and economic…