News

Stephen Buehrer, Protect Ohio Pensions Legislative Liaison reports: The official calendars for the House and Senate reflect both chambers returning to Columbus for five weeks of session beginning Tuesday (11/10) after the elections The fall elections are now less than 50 days away.

The Ohio Retirement Study Council meeting scheduled for September 10th was cancelled.  The next meeting is currently scheduled for October 8th. A note on the ORSC website states that "ORSC members and staff continue to work to verify the data and claims made in the "Retirement at Risk" article.  "The ORSC also discussed an article that appeared in June in the Journal of New Finance. The article raises concerns about government effectiveness and fiduciary accountability in pension systems. The article is based on data from the STRS and OPERS systems. In its findings, the authors detail a difference between the reported rate of return and the audited rate of return. The authors find fault in the wide discrepancy in these figures in the STRS system ($9.3 billion in the years 2003-2022). Further, the performance incentives for STRS staff were based off the higher return figures. The leadership of the ORSC asked Jeff Bernard of the ORSC to verify the findings of the authors, and he testified that he could not verify the authors' work. The ORSC chairman, Rep. Bird has asked the authors of the study to communicate with ORSC staff to further this review."

This topic has clearly gotten the attention of the ORSC and seems likely to be discussed and addressed at future meetings. At a minimum the article - if accurate - calls into question the finances and accuracy of system reporting.