Offer to share when things were good?

A May 13 Fence Post letter stated teachers contribute little to their retirement and receive a return that only a "Wall Street" type could get by manipulating the system.

The premise of the letter used an example in which a hypothetical teacher would contribute a total of $210,000 to the retirement fund, retire at age 55 with a pension of $70,000 a year, and receive more than $2 million during retirement.

A problem with the premise of the example is that, without explicitly stating it, the implication is that the teachers contributions would be placed in a tin can and buried in the back yard of the retirement office. The reality is that the money contributed would be invested in stocks, bonds, etc. by the funds' directors. This means that by the time the teacher retires there would be more than $210,000 in the retirement account. Additionally, because the money would not be withdrawn in a lump sum, the remainder would continue to produce a return. How much the total investment would return would depend upon the investment strategy of the fund.

Now, because of a number of bad choices made with private sector retirement funds, the cry is for those who didn't make bad choices to suffer as well. When the market was soaring and your retirement nest egg was engorged, did you say to your friends, "You know, we've got to share this good fortune with teachers. It will make their lives so much better."

Bruce Hill

Glendale Heights