Pension Neutrality: Tennessee

Analysis of Tennessee's policies

Tennessee's pension system is based on a benefit formula that is not neutral, meaning that each year of work does not accrue pension wealth in a uniform way until teachers reach conventional retirement age, such as that associated with Social Security.

Teachers' retirement wealth is determined by their monthly payments and the length of time they expect to receive those payments. Monthly payments are usually calculated as final average salary multiplied by years of service multiplied by a set multiplier (such as 1.5). Higher salary, more years of service or a greater multiplier increases monthly payments and results in greater pension wealth. Earlier retirement eligibility with unreduced benefits also increases pension wealth, because more payments will be received. 

To qualify as neutral, a pension formula must utilize a constant benefit multiplier and an eligibility timetable based solely on age, rather than years of service. Basing eligibility for retirement on years of service creates unnecessary and often unfair peaks in pension wealth, while allowing unreduced retirement at a young age creates incentives to retire early. Plans that change their multipliers for various years of service do not value each year of teaching equally. Therefore, plans with a constant multiplier and that base retirement on an age in line with Social Security are likely to create the most uniform accrual of wealth.

Tennessee's pension plan is commended for utilizing a constant benefit multiplier of 1.5 percent for the portion of final average salary below "Social Security Integration Level" and 2.5 percent for salary above it. While the multiplier changes, it is not advantageous or disadvantageous to anyone, as it is not dependent on a teacher's total number of years of service; however, teachers may retire before standard retirement age based on years of service without a reduction in benefits. Teachers with 30 years of service may retire at any age, while vested teachers with less than 30 years of experience may not retire until age 60. Therefore, teachers who begin their careers at age 22 can reach 30 years of service by age 52, entitling them to eight additional years of unreduced retirement benefits beyond what other teachers would receive who may not retire until age 60. Not only are teachers being paid benefits by the state well before Social Security's retirement age, but these provisions may also encourage effective teachers to retire earlier than they may otherwise, and they fail to treat equally those teachers who enter the system at a later age and give the same amount of service.

Citation

Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System, Group 1 Teachers http://www.treasury.state.tn.us/tcrs/PDFs/teachers_intro.pdf

Recommendations for Tennessee

End retirement eligibility based on years of service.
Tennessee should change its practice of allowing teachers with 30 years of service to retire at any age with full benefits. If retirement at an earlier age is offered to some teachers, benefits should be reduced accordingly to compensate for the longer duration they will be awarded.

Align eligibility for retirement with unreduced benefits with Social Security retirement age.
Tennessee allows all teachers to retire before conventional retirement age, some as young as 52. As life expectancies continue to increase, teachers may draw out of the system for many more years than they contributed. This is not compatible with a financially sustainable system (see Goal 4-H).

State response to our analysis

Tennessee noted that further information on this issue can be reviewed in TN law (49-5-901 through 916).