Leslie Kan's blog

  • No Easy Retirement for Second-Career Teachers

    April 2, 2014
    Leslie Kan
    Unfortunately for teachers entering the classroom as a second career, most state pension plans are designed primarily to support the retirement of teachers with much longer time to serve -- leaving second-career teachers with relatively slim benefits.
    Alternative Models
    Pensions and Human Capital
    State Pension Plans
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  • New York City Teacher Retention Rates from 1917 and Today

    March 24, 2014
    Leslie Kan
    Pensions provide us with more than just financial data. Pensions also provide us with key information about teacher retention, reaching back for decades. In New York City, teachers do not remain in the profession as long as they did in the past. Instead of responding to this trend, the New York City teacher pension plan has become less generous to mobile teachers.
    Mobility and Portability
    Pensions and Human Capital
    Retirement Insecurity
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  • Storify from Brookings Event on Public Pensions Reform

    February 26, 2014
    Leslie Kan

    The Brown Center on Education Policy at Brookings released two papers examining pension reform efforts across the nation. A presentation of the papers’ findings and a panel discussion followed. Read our picks for the best live tweets in response to the discussion.

    Funding
    Pension Politics
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  • Pension Storm Brewing in Chicago

    February 24, 2014
    Leslie Kan
    As Chicago's pension funding is falling, the average teacher retirement benefit is rising. Not only do the retirement benefits come with an expensive price tag, but they're back-loaded for late-career teachers such that only a small percentage of teachers will receive a pension benefit in the first place.
    Funding
    Pensions and Human Capital
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  • Rural Teacher Retention Rates, 25 Years of Data From North Dakota

    February 17, 2014
    Leslie Kan
    To ensure the accuracy of pension plan assumptions, state retirement systems conduct regular “experience studies” to compare their assumptions with data about the actual numbers observed on the ground. Experience studies help ensure the accuracy of a plan by measuring any fluctuations in the field and proposing subsequent adjustments to plan assumptions. We unearthed over two decades worth of experience studies from North Dakota.
    Pensions and Human Capital
    Retirement Insecurity
    State Pension Plans
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