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hey all, i am trying to weight moving to maine versus new hampshire and would like to know about the nh teacher retirement program...any information would be great, i haven't even been able to stumble on a teacher from nh in here yet...
thanks in advance...
chris
I am also considering moving to either Maine or New Hampshire to teach. Were you able to find out anything pro or con about either state? Which state did you decide to move to? Any advise you can provide would be wonderful!
Gotta say that I wasn't able to find out as much as I wanted to; not that I went hog wild. I did find out however that the retirement system offers far less in NH than in other states; atleast from my understanding.
Are you currently teaching and if so in what state?
Teachers and government employees in New Hampshire are over worked (ever try and get anything done at the motor vehicle office?) and underpaid compared to most anywhere else. Retirement programs reflect this situation created by our highly regressive tax system that places most of the taxes on the working and lower middle class.
I suggest any newly minted teacher consider working any where else in New England before New Hampshire.
The retirement in NH for teachers may not be great, but remember, NH teachers can still collect Social Security. Teachers in Maine, CT, and Mass. do NOT collect Social Security when they retire. Also, NH does not have a state income tax and many of the surrounding states do. You really need to look at the big picture.
Given how much of my tax goes directly to teacher salaries and benefits, I am surprised to find two teachers in this post are "shopping" states for benefits. It must be tough to have a choice between excellent, very good, and superb.
The NH government pension is a sweet deal compared to what is available to most of us non-government workers. Name me a company 401k with a 150% match of all your contributions (you pay $1 they pay $1.50). Is your 401k or IRA payout inflation adjusted and not subject to market loss? Sure, you *could* end up with a better retirement from a market-based 401K; but - if you could opt for a guaranteed 50% of your final salary after paying just 5-7% for 30 years adjusted for inflation - which would you choose?
Teachers work hard - no doubt. In return, they get a middle-class income negotiated by the most powerful unions in the country, gold-plated heath insurance, and a government backed middle-class pension at the end.
However, that said, I am happy to pay tax towards public education as I believe it is a fundamental duty of society to educate the next generation. I will be happy to continue to do so after my children have been educated and after I retire. All I ask for in return from our educators is fiscal efficiency.
Given how much of my tax goes directly to teacher salaries and benefits, I am surprised to find two teachers in this post are "shopping" states for benefits. It must be tough to have a choice between excellent, very good, and superb.
The NH government pension is a sweet deal compared to what is available to most of us non-government workers. Name me a company 401k with a 150% match of all your contributions (you pay $1 they pay $1.50). Is your 401k or IRA payout inflation adjusted and not subject to market loss? Sure, you *could* end up with a better retirement from a market-based 401K; but - if you could opt for a guaranteed 50% of your final salary after paying just 5-7% for 30 years adjusted for inflation - which would you choose?
Teachers work hard - no doubt. In return, they get a middle-class income negotiated by the most powerful unions in the country, gold-plated heath insurance, and a government backed middle-class pension at the end.
However, that said, I am happy to pay tax towards public education as I believe it is a fundamental duty of society to educate the next generation. I will be happy to continue to do so after my children have been educated and after I retire. All I ask for in return from our educators is fiscal efficiency.
This is it, in a nutshell. And for the purposes of full disclosure, so folks don't think I am just bashing education and teachers, our household gets half its income from this system.
However, that said, I am happy to pay tax towards public education as I believe it is a fundamental duty of society to educate the next generation. I will be happy to continue to do so after my children have been educated and after I retire. All I ask for in return from our educators is fiscal efficiency.
Your level of civic responsibility is commendable in the traditional sense.
However, when we are mandated to pay for something (whether we are the consumer or not) we should research and evaluate it in as much detail as possible, inquiring about details which are not offered or obvious and calculating costs ourselves.
Having done so myself, I have concluded that public education here in Hollis:
a. is 'student centered' which means it offers minimal direct instruction; practice toward mastery (even in math) is dangerously minimal
b. violates student and family privacy with endless opinion/attitude/values surveys
c. promotes interdependence to the point that independence is not nurtured but hindered
d. offers postmodern curriculum which is subjective or figurative in nature much of the time
e. promotes humanist philosophy which emphasizes self-esteem without basis. Non merit-based (75 kids on honor roll, including illiterates)
f. imparts a definite anti-American, anti-traditionalist culture.
g. includes values clarification toward e. and f.
h. shell game method of school board budget creation which does not accurately reflect the real and current variables included in the actual tax impact
j. 'professional development' at taxpayer expense - not necessary if we allowed teachers to teach core knowledge with pratice toward mastery without being retrained to facilitate (minimal instruction) according to licensure (snake oil) so learning is student centered and enjoyable while it is academically and personally ineffective training.
Thank-you all for the info. As a CT teacher that has maintained her NH certification, I am trying to decide if I make the move. Taxes and cost of living in CT are sky-high, and quality of life leaves much to be desired. I enjoy reading your posts.
Laura
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Hello. Were you able to find out anything?
