Texas Senate advances bill to shore up teacher pension fund

[TexasTowelie]

by Aliyya Swaby, Texas Tribune


The Texas Senate unanimously passed legislation Monday that is designed to make the Teacher Retirement System pension fund financially healthy and give one-time checks to retired teachers.

Senate Bill 12, filed by Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, would increase how much the state, school districts and current teachers contribute to the pension fund over the next six years. For the first two years, the changes will cost the state about $555.1 million in general revenue. About $195 million of that money would go toward giving retirees one-time additional checks next fiscal year of up to $500.

The money for the bill would come from the Senate's supplemental budget, which the upper chamber unanimously approved last week.

"This plan is far more cost-efficient than simply attempting to contribute one-time contributions of cash every so often," Huffman said.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2019/03/25/texas-senate-advances-bill-shore-teacher-pension-fund/