Strong Support for Pension Availability, Including Teacher Coverage

There is strong support for all workers having access to a pension plan, a recent study has found—and that includes support for coverage for teachers. 

Dan Doonan and Kelly Kenneally, who respectively serve as National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) Executive Director and communications counsel, report in the new NIRS issue brief on Americans’ Views of State and Local Employee Retirement Plans that many Americans lack retirement plan coverage. But they say that while defined benefit plans are not as prevalent as they once were, they still enjoy strong support: 76% have a positive opinion about them.

Support for access to DB plans for all American workers is strong—77% hold that view, and 43% strongly agree with that notion. And support for universal access is independent of ideology, Doonan and Kenneally indicate. They write, “Even though the nation is deeply divided on many other issues, support for pensions is consistent across party lines.” To wit: 75% of Republicans, 78% of independents and 80% of Democrats contend pension plan access should be available to all workers.  

Those beliefs are grounded in concern about the future. Doonan and Kenneally say that “overall, most Americans are deeply concerned about their economic security in retirement, and increasingly see retirement as elusive.” They report that 67% believe that a retirement crisis exists, and 56% are concerned that their retirement will not be financially secure. And they add that the pandemic “triggered a deep economic crisis” that “has been persistent and deep” for portions of the population and economy. 

A Well-Deserved Boon for the Public Sector, Including Teachers

The effects of the pandemic, Doonan and Kenneally argue, highlight the importance of the work that state and local workers do, and that their role in society grew in importance. “From first responders to public health professionals to teachers, more than 18 million individuals who are employed by state and local government continue to make integral activities and services available to their communities,” they write. 

The public appears to strongly support providing pensions to state and local workers—including teachers. Doonan and Kenneally report that 72% of respondents agree that state and local workers should be covered by pension plans, and 69% think public school teachers should have a pension because their pay is low. Support for state and local employees’ pension coverage is premised in part on the fact that they contribute to the system with salary deferrals. 

And there is more to pensions for teachers and other state and local employees than compensation and retirement security. Said Doonan in a press release about the report, “Our research shows that Americans understand that pensions offer more than retirement security – they are a key workforce tool to help attract and retain employees. State and local governments typically offer lower salaries than the private sector, so retirement and healthcare benefits act as employee magnets.” 

Respondents, apparently, agree: A strong majority endorsed pension plan coverage as a way to recruit and retain teachers and other workers: 76% say pensions will help in that way with public safety professionals, and 74% hold that pensions will help attract and keep teachers.