I was curious about this. As long as the teachers plan is well funded, you can just look at the pension contributions to determine total comp.
A teacher making $65K will contribute $6.8K of that to the pension. The boards match their contribution, so you could argue their total comp including pension is about $72K that year.
I saw an article where the average salary is $83.5. The pension contributions will then be about $9K. That means their total comp is about $93K on average, with $18K of that being set aside for future pension obligations (about 19%). Add on medical, etc for full total comp, but you get the idea.
The point is how many are diligent enough to set aside 19% of their total comp every year, year in year out? That is the real story there.
Learn how your defined benefit plan works
www.otpp.com
Total comp is base salary plus benefits plus board pension contributions.
In reality the TDSB average salary is over $85k with thousands in TDSB well over $100k - they are at the top of the grid after 10 years.
Benefits another $5k (top line full coverage for everything from orthotics to massage to psychological counselling)
The pension is the real kicker. It amounts to 2% for each year of service. Indexed for life. Starting age could be 55.
Teachers put in 10% at most, but the board is obligated to match that and the OTPP pension is based on the "BEST 5 years" 100% back loaded.
Not career average using contributions. Best 5. So a teacher typically will boost their income the last five years to max the lifetime pension.
Teachers also continue to receive benefits during retirement which is not included.
If you discount out the normal expected income from a teacher's $9k contribution the board compensation is closer to $35,000 annually on the pension alone.
Total compensation would therefore average about $135- $140,000 for an average teacher.
So add up the math:
Base $85k average
Benefits $5k average
Board pension contribution $9k average
Subtotal $99k
Present value of pension for life discounted to inflation $50k year - assume retired 30 years.
Total comp including the teacher portion of the pension is $149k for each year worked for the average teacher that works 30 years.
In no way does ANYONE in the private sector have the ability to put aside $9k in an RRSP for 30 years of work and get a lifetime annuity for $50k+ indexed to inflation.
The rate of return would have to be near 20% annually.