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QUESTION 4: Why Should The Remedy For The Pre-1969 Teachers Who Did Not Receive Two Choices At Retirement Be Based On The Difference Between The IMP And The High 5?

WE NEED YOU ON OUR TEAM! A Capitol Action Team has been formed. Joe O'Neill will contact the team if he needs people quickly. If you are a metro-area member and can be in St. Paul on short notice for lobbying or attending meetings, you could make the difference in getting our legislation moving and passed. Can you be part of our team?

All 1968-69 Teachers were transferred in either 1973, 1974, 1978 and 1989 to the High 5 pension plan even though the Teacher Retirement Improvement Act of 1969 stated they were to make only ONE pension choice which would be irrevocable. The legislature gave 1968-69 Teachers the IMP Plan if they did not return the �Official Election Form,� then in 1973 they gave them TWO choices at retirement, either the IMP or the High 5, whichever was greater. The easiest thing for TRA to compute at the time of retirement is the difference between the IMP and the High 5. It would be nearly impossible to go back and figure what each original pension choice would provide today. SF 676 Article 20 is an effort to partially rectify the financial inequity Pre-1969 Teachers incurred when they only received ONE choice while other 1968-69 teachers received TWO. It is based on the same TWO pension choices given to other 1968-69 teachers, all of whom paid in the same percentage rate of their salaries over their many years of excellent service as teachers of our state.

In Conclusion:

The State Legislature in 1973 and 1974 created a discriminatory and gross injustice to Pre-1969 Teachers who have performed exceptional service over the years as public school teachers. It is time now for the 2004 State Legislature to correct this inequity by the passage of SF 676, including Article 20, in the Omnibus Pension Bill.

PREPARED BY:

Joseph T. O�Neill                 Tom Selwold                       Rick Winters
Attorney                               Pre-1969 Teacher                Pre-1969 Teacher
(651) 298-8300                      (651) 292-8790                    (651) 644-1433

1.) The Pre-69 Teacher Issue is an equity issue created by the inconsistent application of �savings clause� language when the Legislature negated the irrevocable pension choices made by the members of a defined class of teachers.

2.) SF 676 Article 20 is a financially responsible provision that does not require any support from the General Fund and does not weaken the TRA Fund.

3.) SF 676 Article 20 provides the Pre-1969 Teachers with a relatively small monetary recognition of the much larger inequity created by the 1973 �savings clause.� If passed in its current form, the Pre-1969 Teachers will not pursue further legislative remedy.