Montana labor news., 1937-02-04
TEACHERS Retirement
BEFORE HOUSE

the Montana Education Association
and the Butte Teachers Union, has
been introduced in the House and
assigned to committee. The people
of Montana should be acquainted
with this commendable and import
ant measure. Passage of the bill
would take care of a long-felt need
in the educational system of the
state. The bill would enable Mon
tana to place more youths with their
needed animation in teaching posi-
tons and would provide an outlet
for the young college graduates pre-
pared to carry On its education. Cor
respondingly, it would place Mon
tana's superannuated teachers who
have conscientiously and successful
ly administered the work of educa-
ton till age has robbed them of
needed efficiency and activity, in a
position for possible retirement and
independent living. Under present
circumstances teachers generally do
not retire unless required. States
that have adopted sound teachers
pension laws show a vitalized pro-
gressiveness in this matter thai Mon
tana definitely lacks.
Most of the states in the United
States have teachers retirement
laws. About fifteen states have laws
similar to the Montana proposed law.
New York, New Jersey and Ohio
have superior laws, from the teach
ers' standpoint. New Mexico and
Utah passed teachers retirement
laws within the past few years, and
recently California revised a long
standing teachers pension provision.
A number of city school systems,
some smaller in size than Butte, have
adequate retirement plans. The peo-
pie of Montana through their legis-
lative body should come to the fore
in this matter and adopt school leg
islation that for years has proved
profitable and expedient in so many
states of our country.
Under the provisions of the plan,
the teachers pay one-half the fund.
The fact that teachers receive wages
for only nine months of the year
and constantly are required through
increasing educational demands to
finance their continued college or
university study, makes this plan a
liberal one from a public standpoint.
The retirement measure is known
as the Buck Bill, George R. Buck
of New York City, a noted actuary,
drew up the bill and figured the data
to conform to Montana's needs. 1t
provides that teachers will contrib
ute 5 per cent of their annual salary
which is returned to them if they
leave the profession before retire
men.t The teachers contribution is
to be matched by the state in case of
retirement. Teachers may retire at
the age of sixty provided they have
Is years creditable service, the last
10 of which must have been in the
state of Montana. Teachers may re-
tire before sixty in case of disability
provided they have had 10 years of
service in the state. The allowance
in Ease of disability would be the
teachers earned annuity plus an
equal amount from the state, the
total not to be less than o~ne-fourth
the final average salary. Until the
year 1939-40, the state contributes
2.56 per cent for present and future
service and 2 per cent for prior serv-
ice, a total of 4.56 per cent of the
state teacher payroll. For admins
tration each teacher would pay $1.00
annually, and the state would pay
not more than $4,000 for each of the
first two years. The state would
meet its share during the next two
years from a 5 per. cent deduction
from the gross receipts of the liquor
sales. Such a deduction would bring
approximately 100000 per year.
Since teachers are eliminated in
the national social security act and
since so many groups of people are
to be cared for through social Sc
curity, it is up to the state to adopt
a plan by which teachers may be
included in retirement.