Teacher pension ages pushing younger as lawmakers shoot for savings | FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul
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Teacher pension ages pushing younger as lawmakers shoot for savings

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Published  March 31, 2025 5:33pm CDT
Education
FOX 9

Minnesota’s teacher pension age could change

Three bills could lower the age at which Minnesota teachers can start collecting pensions, ultimately altering the cost to taxpayers. FOX 9’s Corin Hoggard explains.

The Brief

    • Three bipartisan bills could lower the age at which Minnesota teachers can start collecting pensions.
    • One proposes full retirement at age 60 after 30 years of service. That would cost taxpayers an estimated $240 million per year. The other proposals allow retirement at 60, but cost less by not allowing for penalty-free retirement until 62 or 65.
    • Democrats and Republicans agree this is the right thing to do, and it could eventually save the state money. They don't necessarily agree on how to fund it.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Minnesota teachers may be closer to retiring earlier than at least since the "Rule of 90".

There’s a bipartisan push this year to lower the age when they can start collecting pensions.

Turnover tempts

Crazy classrooms:

The classroom is a familiar place for Sen. Heather Gustafson (DFL-Vadnais Heights).

She’s a former teacher who watched turnover rates peak during her career.
"I understand the frustration firsthand," said Sen. Gustafson. "Being a public school teacher is hard."

American teachers left their schools in 2022-23 at a rate of 23%, and rookie teacher turnover was even worse at 30%.

Minnesota politicians are hoping they can keep more teachers by improving pensions with one of three bipartisan proposals.

Pension policy shift

Three possible futures:

Currently, teachers can get full pensions at age 65, after 30 years on the job.

One of the new proposals would move that to 60 years old – at a cost to taxpayers of about $240 million a year.

Allowing full retirement at 62 would cost about $77 million.

And allowing partial pensions at 60 instead of 62 would cost $33 million.

Rep. Danny Nadeau(R-Rogers) says the money is kind of a wash.

"Our education system will pay for those higher paid teachers for longer periods of time and they're going to pay for it through increased class sizes, increased activity fees, decreases in what they can do in other in other areas," said Rep. Nadeau.

Return on investment

Cutting coupons:

Sen. Gustafson says an investment in pensions could actually save the state money because more of those higher-paid teachers can retire.

"You're really ending up with a lot of teachers who want to retire early, but are waiting for that pension to make sense for them," she said. "In the meantime, newer teachers who could step into those roles at that that earlier stage of on the salary path aren't able to."

Both Democrats and Republicans have signed on to the pension bills, but success may come down to finding the money to make it happen.

Bipartisan blockade

Funding fight:

Rep. Nadeau does not have DFL support for his plan to help pay for pensions by cutting back on free school lunches for students from wealthier families.

"If that bill would pass, it frees up $85 million per year that we could re-appropriate to another use," said Rep. Nadeau.

Teachers unions are supporting the biggest change — full retirement at age 60.

They’ll get to make their case in committee hearings by the end of next week. 

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