I was proud to be a coauthor and support a measure last week that made some very important adjustments to the Teacher Retirement System of Texas.

Senate Bill 1458 recognized that the retirement fund for Texas teachers is facing a large deficit, and retirees haven’t received a cost-of-living payment in many years.  The additional TRS funding and small retirement age-adjustments in the bill will help preserve the fund for decades to come.

This balanced solution involves additional funding from the state, active school employees, and our local school districts. These relatively small changes now will prevent large, and very difficult, changes later.

SB 1458 will put the TRS pension fund on a path to becoming actuarially sound, while still providing a cost of living increase for 102,000 senior retirees, the first since 2001.  The bill increases the employer contribution rate and has a positive impact on the TRS-Care fund.  All current employees who are vested in the system are grandfathered into the current rules regarding retirement.

Our teachers are the backbone of our education system, and we must honor their service through a robust Teacher Retirement System that can be relied upon when needed most. This legislation moves us in the right direction towards having a safe, solvent and affordable TRS for years to come.

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