Retirement Benefit Changes Could Help Fix Alaska’s Teacher Retention Problem
In a Forbes column, NIRS Executive Director Dan Doonan writes that demonstrated way to keep teachers over their careers is to offer them a defined benefit (DB) pension.
While there is a high degree of churn in the early years, as new teachers decide whether education is the right career for them, once teachers stay more than five years they are likely to stay for a career, and the incentives built into pensions promote that retention.
Alaska’s two statewide public pension plans have been closed for almost 17 years. Since that time, all newly-hired public employees, including teachers, have participated in a defined contribution (DC) plan. Alaska has experienced greater challenges in retaining public employees during this period. In fact, the Alaska Department of Public Safety has testified that the inability to offer a DB pension is also a hindrance to recruiting new state troopers.
Statement on Efforts in Alaska to Restore Pension Benefits to Address Grave Workforce Shortage
Alaska’s effort to restore a pension plan for public workers represents meaningful progress in addressing one of the state’s most pressing challenges: attracting and retaining a stable, experienced public workforce. While Governor Dunleavy has vetoed the legislation, the fact that the measure passed both the House and Senate demonstrates a growing recognition that retirement benefits are not just about retirement security — they also are an essential workforce management tool.
