You are here
Teacher Pension Enhancements and Staffing in an Urban School District
Many states enhanced benefits in teacher retirement plans during the 1990s. This paper examines the school staffing effects of one such enhancement in a major urban school district with mostly high poverty schools. Pension rule changes in 1999 for St. Louis public school teachers resulted in very large increases in pension wealth for active teachers, as well as a powerful increase in “push” incentives for earlier retirement. Simple descriptive statistics on retirement patterns before and after the enhancements suggest much earlier retirement resulted. Shorter teaching spells imply a steady state with more teaching vacancies and a larger share of novice teachers in classrooms. To better understand the long run effects of these changes and alternatives policies, the authors estimate a structural model of teacher retirement. Simulations of retirement behavior for a representative senior teacher point to shorter completed teaching spells and earlier retirement age as a result of the enhancements. By contrast, moving from the post-1999 to a DC- type plan would extend the teaching career of a representative senior teacher by roughly three years. Simulations of voluntary DC conversation plans suggest that many senior teachers would enroll, thereby reducing workforce turnover, and overall pension costs.
Citation: Shawn Ni, Michael Podgursky, Xiqian Wang (2020). Teacher Pension Enhancements and Staffing in an Urban School District. CALDER Working Paper No. 240-0620
You May Also Be Interested In
Teacher Turnover Three Years into the Pandemic Era: Evidence from Washington State
Dan Goldhaber, Roddy Theobald
School District Job Postings and Staffing Challenges Throughout the Second School Year During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Dan Goldhaber, Nate Brown, Nathaniel Marcuson, Roddy Theobald
Out of the Gate, but Not Necessarily Teaching: A Descriptive Portrait of Early-Career Earnings for Those Who Are Credentialed to Teach
Dan Goldhaber, John Krieg, Stephanie Liddle, Roddy Theobald
See other working papers on:
Research Area: Educator preparation and teacher labor markets