Retirement & Pensions
Education news, analysis, and opinion about school staff retirement and the related financial obligations and issues for districts and states
Teaching Profession
In Their Own Words
'I Just Want to Get Better': A Teacher With Long COVID Retires Earlier Than She'd Hoped
A former Massachusetts teacher shares how long COVID damaged her cognitive abilities and accelerated her retirement.
Recruitment & Retention
5 Strategies States Are Using to Fill Teacher Shortages
After months of scrambling, states have settled on a handful of practices. But experts say some could weaken the quality of teaching.
Recruitment & Retention
Could Retired Teachers Be the Answer to Shortages? It's Complicated
Some hard-pressed states are letting retired teachers "double dip" and collect their pension on top of a new salary.
Budget & Finance
Districts Spend Up to a Third of Their Payroll on Pensions. What That Means for Budgets
Despite healthy returns in 2021, some districts' share of retirement benefits and debt servicing has crept up to high levels.
Recruitment & Retention
From Our Research Center
How Many Teachers Are Retiring or Quitting? Not as Many as You Might Think
An EdWeek Research Center survey found that teacher resignations in the year leading up to August 2022 were only slightly above 2019.
Teaching Profession
How the War in Ukraine Could Affect Teacher Pensions
K-12 pension funds are in the news as some states move to divest from Russian assets—but the impact on educators isn't yet clear.
Teaching Profession
Exits by Black and Hispanic Teachers Pose a Threat to Learning Recovery
Amid the pandemic's toxic brew of death, illness, and classroom disruption, these departures have created another strain for students.
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A lot has changed over the last decade. The number of public school students to graduate on time has increased sharply. Education has moved online.
School & District Management
A Lauded Superintendent Retires After Years of Crises: 'I Don’t Want to Become Bitter'
The pandemic brought huge leadership challenges to superintendents. As some leave the job, who will replace them?
Teaching Profession
Explainer
Did COVID-19 Really Drive Teachers to Quit?
An Education Week analysis shows that the predicted wave of leavers has not yet materialized across the nation.
Teaching Profession
Video
What It’s Like to Retire During a Pandemic
For first grade teacher Kristi Kucera, retiring in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic disrupted her plans.
Education
Public Pensions Have Lost $1 Trillion in Value. That's Bad News for Teacher Pay
States, school districts and teachers next year are likely to be on the hook for higher pension rates as the investment markets tank because of the coronavirus. That will leave districts with less money to spend on other K-12 priorities, including teacher pay.
States
State-District Tensions Swell Over School Pensions
There’s a tussle over the right balance for who should pick up the tab for teacher retirements and how that affects wealthier and less-wealthy districts.