The landscape of public education retirement plans is in an upheaval. A variety of economic, demographic, and political factors make it increasingly difficult for defined-benefit pension plans alone to provide educators with an adequate retirement. As a result, for the nearly seven million educators in America's public primary and secondary…

As school districts continue to seek administrative efficiencies and cost reductions in the wake of severe budget pressures, the resources they devote to creating or expanding retirement plan consortia is increasing. Understanding how to structure a retirement plan consortium is paramount to successfully achieving the many objectives of…

There's not a school business official in the country who isn't dealing with budget cuts and trying to do more with less. This article shares some proven strategies to help school districts reduce spending and address personnel issues associated with retirement plans. Because public education employers are exempt from the Employee Retirement…

The definition of "retirement" is changing with the boomers, just like everything else that generation has done. Call it a new version of outsourcing. For an early career business administrator or an understaffed business office, there are jobs--often projects--that simply do not get done. The projects require time and expertise that…

What's the main factor coloring employee satisfaction? Many organizations' leaders think the answer is salary, yet in reality, employee benefits packages are one of the biggest incentives an employer can offer. Educational institutions have done well in providing benefits to employees. However, with an unpredictable economic climate and a complex…

For years, people have been taught that maintaining liquidity of assets, particularly at retirement, is beneficial. One's liquidity, that is, monies he/she controls and has ready access to for discretionary withdrawals, translates into uncertainty to the company holding those assets because they can be withdrawn at any time. If one can increase a…

Fueled by declining revenue from the housing crisis, skyrocketing energy costs, and an economy in general disarray, the public is pressuring school administrators to make broader and deeper cuts in their operating budgets. As the baby boomers retire, put their houses on the market, and downsize, one will see more downward price pressure on home…

In April 2009, a high school principal in a large Arizona school district met individually with 18 of his most senior teachers to inform them that they would not have a job the following year. Why didn't tenure protect them from wholesale dismissal? The answer is they all had one thing in common: they were retirees who had been leased or hired…

Uses question-and-answer format to discuss whether employer contributions to 403(b)(7) custodial mutual-fund accounts subject employer to the reporting and disclosure requirements of Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Also discusses the self-correction of excess contributions to a 403(b) program per the Internal…

Describes several key decisions school business officials will need to make when planning for retirement. (PKP)

Discusses proposed Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) accounting standards requiring school districts to report liability associated with other post-employment benefits (OPEBs), such as health care, to future retirees and well as the status of efforts to fund those benefits. (PKP)

Describes Governmental Accounting Standards Boards' (GASB) proposed new standards addressing the recognition, measurement, and reporting of other postemployment benefits (excluding pension benefits), the most common of which are health-care benefits. Includes a lengthy table of tentative GASB decisions on other postemployment benefits. Suggests…

Politicians are increasingly pressuring school districts to improve instruction while holding down costs. To achieve this aim, western New York school districts are experimenting with mutual gains bargaining, an alternative negotiation process based on Roger Fisher and William Ury's 1991 book "Getting to Yes." Instead of bargaining from…

School business administrators are devoting a significant portion of their time to retirement-related issues. Describes the retirement systems in place in Illinois and provides some budgeting examples for retirements and early retirements of school district personnel. (MLF)

Describes how the combination of tax-deferred savings and tax-deferred retirement programs provided for in the Economic, Growth and Tax Relief and Reconciliation Act of 2001 can be used by school districts to attract and retain quality teachers. (PKP)