Joyce Foundation Teacher Pensions
This research focuses on how different retirement systems might shape the teacher workforce. We are investigating this relationship by examining a natural experiment in Washington State in which, over different time periods, the state offered teachers a choice between a traditional defined benefit (DB) retirement plan and a hybrid retirement plan that combines a DB component with a defined contribution (DC) component.
The question at issue is whether different types of teachers prefer one plan structure over the other, and whether these preferences have implications for the quality of the teacher workforce.
We have access to detailed data on teacher retirement choices as well as data that allows us to link teachers to students over time. This allows what we believe will be the first quantitative study that looks directly at the workforce implications of teacher choices about retirement plans.
Goldhaber, D., & Grout, C. (2016). Which plan to choose? The determinants of pension system choice for public school teachers. Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, 15(1), 30-54.
Goldhaber, D., & Grout, C. (2016). Pension choices and the savings patterns of public school teachers. Education Finance and Policy, 11(4), 449-481.
Goldhaber, D., & Grout, C. (2014). Finding Common Ground in Pension Reform: Lessons from the Washington State Pension System. Bellwether Education Partners.
