Subject: CRTA facts for letter writing
Date: Mon, 19 Jun 2006 05:37:36 -0700

CRTA Area V Legislation Chairs and Director,

-------------Forwarded Message------------------

As you know, there has been a pretty big lull in coverage of public
pensions. We don't expect the issue to go away, but it is definitely on
the back burner for now. However, we need to continue to work to get our
messages out to the public. Pasted below are some general message points
we are making in terms of teacher pensions/retirement. You can take two
or three of these points and develop your own letters to the editor and
feed them into the local media.

Message Points for Use in Letters

Successful education begins with good teachers. A guaranteed pension is
one way to attract and retain qualified individuals to the profession,
especially since there are other higher-paying careers potential teachers
can pursue with comparable education and training.

California teachers don't qualify for Social Security benefits. Their
teachers' pension is their only guaranteed source of income in retirement
and must be protected.

The nation as a whole is facing an unprecedented fiscal challenge with
the impending retirement of the Baby Boomers. We need to protect, improve
and expand the social safety net to ensure a secure and dignified
retirement for everyone. We should not attack and destroy those systems,
such as California's teacher pension program, that are providing that
security.

Teachers and their local school district finance nearly 90 percent of
their own retirement costs.

The current teachers' retirement system is proven and reliable. It is not
in crisis. It has enough assets on hand to continue paying pensions for
another 60 years without any increased taxpayer costs.

Critics of the teachers' pension system would prefer to see teachers put
their hard-earned money into risky investment accounts from which brokers
could charge high fees and commissions but bear no responsibility for
results.

California's long-term economic prosperity owes a great debt to the
teachers who have educated the nation's most skilled work force. We can
show our gratitude by protecting their well-earned pensions and ensuring
that all teachers receive fair and equal treatment by the retirement
system for the services they have rendered.

Ed Ely, Principal
E/B/E & Associates, PR
P.O. Box 2640
Fair Oaks, CA   95628
(916) 966-5933
(916) 966-5944 (fax)