Is Ohio teachers retirement mitigating rate increase legal?

By Maggie Thurber | for Ohio Watchdog

The State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio is directing public colleges and universities to withhold another 1 percent from participants in alternative retirement plans, but a state lawmaker thinks they don’t have that authority.

Lynn Wachtmann, R-Napoleon, chairs the Ohio Retirement Study Council, which oversees the state’s numerous public retirement systems. He cites a recent Attorney General opinion as proof that “STRS is acting outside its legal authority.”

STRS disagrees, saying the rate changes are in compliance with Ohio law.

At issue is the amount of contribution employers must make for individuals eligible for STRS, but participating in different retirement plans.