Retirement
Educators deserve a secure retirement after dedicating their careers to student success. MEA is here to protect that retirement and help to navigate choices school employees need to make along the way.
Retirement benefits are a large part of a total compensation package. Not understanding retirement plans can cause an individual to lose out on financial benefits like a pension.
Important Facts New Hires Need to Know About Retirement:
By law, newly hired school employees have 75 days from their first payroll date to choose a retirement plan. Those that do not actively choose a plan within this window are considered to have elected the Defined Contribution (DC) plan by default – and that plan selection cannot be changed. MEA has created a guide to help understand this important decision, and offers training for all new school employees (regardless of MEA membership) to help understand the various choices.
Need Assistance?
MEA can help members in good standing with retirement issues. Contact your local MEA Uniserv office for assistance.
Retirement News
Pension tax repeal on deck, Whitmer and legislative leaders announce
Editor’s note: Lawmakers need to hear from you! Please take a few minutes to contact your state senator and representative and urge them to support Gov. Whitmer's proposal to repeal the unfair tax on retired educators' pensions. After a long 11 years, retired educators may soon experience relief from the unfair retirement tax imposedon them by former lawmakers, Gov. Gretchen…
Appeals Court Denies Interest in 3% Case
The Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled that school employees who had 3 percent of their salary illegally withheld by the state from 2010-12 are not entitled to be paid additional interest on the money. The decision is the latest twist in a long-running legal saga that grew out of the 3 percent case, which public education employees won in…
NEW HIRES: Sign Up for Free MEA Training on Mandatory Retirement Selection
If you are a brand new school employee, or know someone who is, be aware that state law requires newly hired school employees in Michigan to select between two retirement plan choices within 75 days after their first payroll date—or the state will choose for them. And once a selection is made, it can’t be changed. Retirement benefits are a…
Opinion: Pouring pensions into potholes is too great a risk
A pension is a promise of a secure retirement. But too often in Lansing, they’re viewed as piggy banks to be broken into for political purposes. As a young educator, I remember then-Gov. John Engler diverting state payments from the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System to fund other priorities — which accelerated us down a road of unfunded pension liabilities.…