STRS Ohio

Anakin Kingsman

Current teachers are working longer to contribute to this fund more. Yet your spokesperson said on NBC4 that your company is paying out bonuses to Investors? WHY? Without a single COL increase for those retired already? Your investors DO NOT and SHOULD NOT receive a single bonus until there is a full, independent audit and especially after an almost $4 Billion loss of our money.

Jason E

I had death certificates and some notarized papers neatly tucked away in an envelope on the passenger seat beside me as I pressed west on Broad Street.  I had to keep ignoring the voice navigation that wanted me to leave Broad Street and then go in circuitous loops up ramps around busy afternoon highways, only to rejoin Broad Street further on.  I don't mind seeing the homeless, the urban decay, the areas of stagnation.  One has to take all facets of Columbus to get a clear picture.  It wasn't the clearest picture I had that I wouldn't be fully welcome to just drop off the official papers rather than dropping them in the mail. STRS is guarded and preserved from that reality just down Broad Street.  Guarded from the everyday reality of the public school teachers it serves.  It is a luxury hotel for people who ostensibly serve people who are always likely to stay at motels.  The entrance to its own somewhat hidden underground parking garage is wedged between two buildings on a small street off 5th, parallel to Broad.  A mechanical arm blocks its entrance and one must push a glowing red button to request an entrance.  An authoritative male voice crackled over the speaker asking my name and whether I had an appointment.  I gave him my name. "An appointment?  Yeah, I have an appointment," I said.  I didn't have an appointment.  To visit the people playing around with my retirement I shouldn't need an appointment.  The arm lifted.  I parked the car. The security lobby just off the garage is dimly lit.  The heavyset guard in the security booth asked me my name again and whether I had an appointment. "I thought I had an appointment, but it is entirely possible I was mistaken."  I showed him the death certificates and envelope I needed to drop off.  He called someone on the seventh floor and said they would write me in as a walk-in.  The atrium leading up is quite a spectacle, as is the entire building.  There is some sort of art sculpture of words hanging down that I didn't have a good chance to fully appreciate.  The guard printed out my own Avery visitor name label with my name typed out.  He then motioned to a shiny steel pair of doors for an elevator. The seventh floor was covered in warm colors, expensive-looking furnishings, and the floor itself in wall-to-wall plush carpet.  A nice-looking brunette sitting at a desk seemed poised to intercept the street riffraff blown in off the elevator.  An older couple sat solemnly together waiting for an advisor.  They were the only other clientele there and they had made an appointment.  The woman made copies of the certificates and took the notarized papers in the envelope.  She stamped everything and showed me back to the elevator again.  On the way back down, I thought about how weird the whole thing is.  STRS has a saccharine facade covering a stifling, unwelcoming air. On the way out to the parking lot, the security guard asked for my name sticker back.  I was tempted to tell him no, but was grateful to him for not throwing out on my derriere in the first place. Why the need for all the security?  I don't know.  If it's COVID protocols, I was the only one there wearing a mask.  I am otherwise not sure what they have to fear from teachers calling on them.  Everyone there is professional and courteous, but their preferred mode of contact is electronically, by phone, or old-fashioned mail.  Not in person. A couple weeks later, I discovered (by mail) that my visit was a waste.  STRS will not accept death certificates that say 'pending' for a teacher's final pay to family.  So long as the autopsy and car accident investigation is ongoing (I have been told to expect three months), STRS leaves families in the lurch, as most insurance companies do.  Except STRS is not insurance.  It's a group of people who are greedily reluctant to do what is right and allow families to go into debt paying bills of the deceased in the meantime. As I say, friendly but really weird and out-of-touch.  In this case with basic humanity.

James Danner

Excellent as always!

marqde1

Director William Neville keeps a bevy of investors and does not know about teacher cost of living adjustment(COLA). According to Ohio Checkbook, the top 25 are compensated more than $400 K per year(compare POTUS) up to $650 K and the top 200 each make more than $100K. Almost all get bloated bonuses regardless of performance. These investors have lost $500,000,000.00 in Panda Energy of Texas, yet they still award themselves mega bonuses. No teacher gets any meaningful social security because the Ohio legislature has alleged that STRS Ohio is a "Cadillac" of pensions. No retiree has had a COLA for nearly 6 years and can scarcely apply for Social Security while the STRS staff enriches itself with bloated salaries. The scenario should be written up by Stephen King.