With inflation on the rise, more than 150,000 retired Ohio teachers have less money to spend because they’re not getting an annual cost of living adjustment from their pension fund, the second largest in Ohio.
That decision to suspend the COLA has sparked lawsuits, and a special state audit into the teachers’ pension fund – a story that was first reported by the Statehouse News Bureau.
And it led a group of retirees to band together and hire a former SEC lawyer who’s examined several public pension funds. He concluded the State Teachers Retirement System isn’t transparent, has squandered money that could be used for that benefit and has lost the trust of teachers. But in a rare interview, the executive director of STRS sat down to dispute those claims and to discuss that special audit.
Ted Siedle, former SEC lawyer and founder of Benchmark Financial Services
William Neville, Executive Director, State Teachers Retirement System