The Top 3 Reasons to Vote For Ben Morgenroth For TRS Trustee
Voting is May 8 & 9. All active TRS members will be able to vote. Voting will be done electronically. Check your DOE email for details and instructions.
1. Ben is the most qualified candidate.
Ben, a Brown-educated applied mathematician with experience in the financial sector, has not only the drive–but the competence–to do whatever is in his power to keep the pension solvent for all tiers, while working to get Tier 6 fixed. His opponent worked for the UFT pension office, but not in a role that comes close to overseeing a 100-billion-dollar investment fund. Ben has that experience – and he got it on Wall Street.
2. Ben is committed to making the member-benefiting pension reforms we need.
Unlike his competitor, he is an actual member of Tier 6. He is a teacher, not a staffer, and thus holds no separate UFT pension to shield him from the brutal inadequacies of our subpar retirement system. While, for years, UFT leadership more or less appointed TRS representatives who told us that Tier 6 was basically fine, it was Ben, and Ben alone, who took it upon himself to do the math of how much we’re losing: almost a decade of our lives and over a million dollars. Ben, not his competitor, faces that reality. Ben is therefore committed to doing whatever is in his power to fight to:
• Fix Tier 6 now, not later [read more here]
• Reverse the TDA giveback/failure (restore to 8.25% return, like all city workers)
• Improve pension penalties for those who go on parental leave.
• Make whatever improvements possible to previous tiers. All pensions can be made better for our members – if we have the will to make them so.
3. Ben gets us independent oversight and transparency.
Ben, though backed by three UFT caucuses and countless independents, is running his own campaign. He will not answer to Mulgrew or anyone else when making decisions in the pension office. He will only answer to you, the voter, which is one reason he commits to ending pension office opacity and making decisions transparent.
Ballots will be sent digitally to our DOE emails on Wednesday, May 8. Make sure to check your accounts – and to vote for Ben Morgenroth.
Vote Ben Morgenroth For TRS Pension Trustee
What’s at stake:
Fixing Tier 6, now. Not later. Ben will provide expert, independent oversight of our pensions. We must end pension cuts while securing and fully funding our pensions.
Learn more about Ben’s highly qualified credentials and his priorities here.
🗳️ Election Day: Wednesday, May 8 and Thursday, May 9, 2024
Voting will be done electronically. Check your DOE email for instructions and details.
⬇️ Download, print, share the Ben Morgenroth for TRS Trustee flyer.
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Editor’s note:
About the qualifications of both candidates, Ben Morgenroth vs Christina McGrath:
The pension board trustee position in purview isn’t a pension service representative position who helps you with your final pension payout. It is to oversee 100 billion dollars in pension investments.
The best analogy is that an oil lube technician knows something about cars but by no means is an expert in auto engineering or has the acumen to manage/oversee automobile tech funds, or serve on the board of directors of Tesla or Ford.
Ben’s degrees are in advanced math and economics. And he has finance and investment fund/risk analysis experience that Christina doesn’t as an elementary teacher who did mostly part time service rep work throughout her career.
I have no doubt she’s a good pension consultant. And her 20 years in the pension service department is commendable. But, I want a set of experienced eyes that can analyze funds and markets. And has the breadth of professional knowledge and experience to oversee a pension fund. That’s Ben.
If you want a paid union staffer beholden to Mulgrew. She’s truly your best choice.
If you want someone with investment expertise that will be accountable to us as a rank and file teacher and is demanding increased transparency for us all. Ben is your best choice.
Do you want someone who knows what ‘QPP’ stands for and can pull up your payout on a computer platform?
Or do you really want someone who knows about pension portfolio optimization, minimizing risk and maximizing returns?
Thats the DIFFERENCE. Vote Ben.
There seven Trustees, three elected by in service TRS members, two appointed by the mayor, one each by the comptroller and the PEP (central school board).
* Tier 6 can only be changed by the governor and the state legislature
* The TDA has six options plus a fixed option, the monthly meetings report on the performance of the options, trustees do NOT determine what to buy or sell
* The fixed rate option was part of a negotiation and resulted in a substantial salary increase, can only be changed by an act of the legislature
The Trustees currently work with the UFT to increase services to members, a secure and user friendly website, time processing of pension info, etc.
To elect a member whose goals are not within its job responsibilities is foolish, and, dangerous.
Twenty years working within the UFT pension department is a quality I admire, “jumping to the front of the line” is chutzpah
How am I able to vote. Is this for retirees to vote on? I have not received anything so Im a bit confused here.