Your Pension
MSTA and Your Pension: A Timeline
In a national climate where public and private entities are cutting back or eliminating their employee defined-benefit pension plans, Maryland legislators took an important step forward during the last days of the 2006 General Assembly when they unanimously passed a pension improvement bill for educators and other state employees. The improvement lifts Maryland from last place, but work remains to be done to bring the benefit up to the national average.
Pension experts, such as MSTA members Bill Brown and Carl Lancaster, both trustees on the State Retirement Board, and MSTA staff members in research and government relations continue to track State Retirement and Pension System activities and follow trends around the country.
2006 |
MSTA’s Push for Pensions campaign mobilized tens of thousands of members who lobbied legislators around the state for an improved pension benefit. Despite Governor Ehrlich’s lack of support (he failed twice to include funding for pension improvement in his budget) legislators passed an improvement providing a benefit increase of thousands of dollars for school employees. MSTA will continue to work to raise Maryland educator pensions to the national average. More on the 2006 pension improvement legislation. |
2005 |
MSTA’s efforts on pension reform see progress when the Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act mandates pension legislation for educators and state employees be introduced in 2006 General Assembly. Pension improvement is MSTA’s highest priority for the 2006 General Assembly session. |
2003-05 |
MSTA introduces new pension enhancement legislation that brings the inadequacy of the pension system to the attention of legislators. |
2001 |
MSTA creates Task Force on Pension Issues to study Maryland’s poor pension and its effects. Task Force hosts pension education events throughout state and at MSTA’s Convention 2001. |
1998 |
The General Assembly passes MSTA-initiated legislation mandating the first-ever improvements to the TPS. MSTA’s member-activists support campaign with lobbying and letter writing. |
1997 |
MSTA creates task force to recommend pension enhancements for the 1998 General Assembly. MSTA member Carl Lancaster is joined on the State Retirement Board of Trustees by newly elected MSTA member Bill Brown. |
1980 |
The non-contributory Teachers’ Pension System (TPS) replaces the Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) created in 1927. TRS is closed to new employees. |
