Proposed legislation to change Missouri teacher pensions

"Currently Missouri is at the very bottom end of teacher pay average in the United States," said Susan Hansche, President of the Nixa Teachers Association. "So this is a huge deal to be able to attract quality educators."

Susan Hansche has spent 19 years teaching in the classroom, and for the past eight, serving as President of the Nixa Teachers Association. She says a proposed bill to overhaul the longtime pension system looks financially risky.

"We have ongoing conversations about the importance of the security of our retirement system,"Hansche said. "And, overwhelmingly, current and retired teachers favor the current system, as we have, left alone."

Missouri teachers don't get social security. They all put 14-and half percent of their pay into their own pension fund.

The new legislation being pushed by Nixa's Republican Representative Jered Taylor would allow new teachers the option to invest in 401(k) style accounts. That investment, would be up to 50-percent. The current system, however, provides teachers the stability of a set monthly benefit.

The Nixa Teachers Association and others are concerned that switching to a 401(k) retirement plan will not promote long-term careers in education.