State has failed us all on pensions

For 33 years, by law, I contributed 9 percent of my salary to the Illinois Teachers’ Retirement System. This was money I earned teaching other people’s children in public school classrooms. By law, I could not pay into the Social Security system, so TRS would become my sole means of support in retirement.

As written into the Constitution of the state of Illinois when the state teacher retirement system was formed in the 1930s, every year sitting legislatures would provide funds to TRS equal to the contributions made by teachers. In the last 10 years or so, legislators have chosen to ignore this law stated in the Illinois Constitution. They have, in effect, disobeyed the law in the document they pledged to uphold.

In the private sector, employers are required by law to contribute 6.2 percent of employees’ salaries to the Social Security system. Failure to do so would result in monetary fines or worse punishment. I would submit this widely published fact to some private sector employees who contribute their opinions to Fence Post opposing public pensions: the 2 percent decrease in Social Security payments by employees will increase the federal deficit by billions of dollars.

Richard J. Piagari

Des Plaines