Welcome to the latest edition of This Week in Pensions! We have gathered the top stories about pensions and retirement security from the previous week.
Alaska’s Workforce Crisis Deepens as Teacher Turnover, Low Pay, and Retirement Insecurity Persist
This week in Alaska, a powerful combination of educator testimony, economic analysis, and public reflection underscored the urgent need to strengthen retirement benefits, address pay disparities, and invest in the public workforce.
In an Anchorage Daily News op-ed, Denali Montessori principal and former U.S. military member Deanna Beck highlighted the devastating impact of the state’s retirement structure on teacher retention. Drawing a comparison to the military covenant, she warned that Alaska has broken its commitment to public servants:
“We ask our teachers, our police officers, and our firefighters to dedicate their careers to the most vital state services, yet we offer them a (non) retirement system that forces them to bear all the risk, encourages them to leave early, and leaves them with zero guaranteed retirement income.”
The Anchorage School District lost more than 400 teachers in the past year alone, and over 1,500 in the last four years—with nearly half of resignations occurring within the first five years of service. “The defined contribution plan established in 2006,” she said, “is structurally designed to accelerate turnover, not commitment.”
Beck urged lawmakers to pass House Bill 78, which would restore a modest, fiscally sustainable pension option. According to Dr. Teresa Ghilarducci, the state could save an estimated $76 million annually by reducing the financial drain from employee turnover.
At a recent legislative hearing, University of Alaska Anchorage economist Matt Berman told lawmakers that Alaska’s teacher wages are “25% below the national average” when adjusted for cost of living—despite frequently being cited as among the highest in the nation on paper.
Former Education Commissioner Jerry Covey agreed that reversing the state’s recruitment crisis will require multiple strategies, citing “teacher salaries, adequate housing, a strong retirement system, and infrastructure repairs” as essential investment areas.
A third voice this week gave a more personal view. In a compelling opinion piece, teacher Donica Nash reflected on the emotional toll of public service, writing:
“To be a public worker is to live in the space between gratitude and grief… If the measure of a society is how it treats its people, then, by golly, public workers are the heart of this country.”
Across all three perspectives, the message is unified: Alaska’s chronic turnover, underinvestment in educators and public employees, and inadequate retirement system are not abstract challenges—they are active crises driving frontline public workers away.
As momentum behind House Bill 78 grows and lawmakers continue debating compensation and funding structures, Alaska faces a critical choice: continue to lose the people who hold its communities together, or reform the system to prioritize long-term stability.
Ohio Public Workers Stand Up for Fair Treatment and Pension Rights
This week in Ohio, public workers continued to push for better conditions and stronger retirement protections, with new labor momentum emerging far beyond the classroom.
Employees at the Columbus Metropolitan Library system—one of the largest in the state—are moving to unionize with the Ohio Federation of Teachers (OFT), citing inadequate pay, limited benefits, safety concerns, and rising workplace demands.
“Frontline staff are being pushed to act as untrained social workers,” said librarian Jude Virostko, highlighting the growing role workers play in connecting people with housing, food assistance, and other critical services. Another employee, Megan Sheeran, revealed, “Some have been threatened and assaulted… we’re on the frontlines.”
More than 600 workers are eligible to join the union, and 80% have already expressed support, according to OFT. Organizers say they are fighting to ensure that every worker—full- or part-time—receives “fair pay and vital benefits, like affordable health care and paid time off.”
On the America’s Work Force Union Podcast, OFT President Melissa Cropper called the organizing effort part of a broader fight for worker dignity and pension security. She also issued a warning about ongoing attempts to alter teacher pension governance in Ohio.
Cropper noted that recent legislative efforts to reduce the number of elected representatives on the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS) board were “tucked into a lengthy budget bill in the middle of the night,” prompting legal challenges and strong pushback from educators and retirees.
Listen to the full podcast here.
Be sure to check back next Friday for the latest in the fight for a secure retirement! For now, sign up for NPPC News Clips to receive daily pension news from across the country directly to your inbox.