A newly released report revealed that new teachers in public schools should be wary about working towards a pension- because only one in four new teachers will ever break even on their contributions.

Authors of the report Chad Aldeman and Richard W. Johnson set out "to find each state’s break-even point. That’s the time that teachers hired at age 25 can collect pensions that are more than the money they contributed, plus interest," said Forbes.

Only new teachers in two states were found to have greater than a 50-50 shot at breaking even on their contributions.

"There’s less than a 10% chance that new teachers in Delaware, Maine, Mississippi, New Hampshire and Vermont will break even and make more money than they put in plus interest. Massachusetts? Forget it," the article said.

Indeed, teachers hired after July of 2001 in Massachusetts were found to never receive a pension worth more than their contributions plus interest.

As a result, its hard to make any guarantees for new teachers entering the field, already a hard feat in itself.

"Aldeman and Johnson point out that in 86% of plans around the country, new teachers need 20 years on the job before they can take money out of their pension plans other than their own contributions and interest," the article said.

The article raises a good point, too, about the young teachers accepting pension plans that might not end up benefiting them at all:

"And how many 20-somethings, eager to begin their careers in the classroom, actually sit down and examine the fine print of their pension plans?"

A change to the system, the article argues, is what new teachers truly need for success in the long-term.

"[T]there are 3.1 million public school teachers in the U.S. and they deserve to plan and save for their future."

Read more here.

Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

09/29/2015