The Texas legislature passed a bill Thursday aimed at shoring up the state teachers’ pension fund and giving its retired members a standalone bonus.
The bill would increase state contributions to the $154.3 billion Texas Teachers Retirement System by 2% over the next five years and give the retirees a one-time “13thcheck” of a maximum $2,400 by September 2020 in addition to their monthly checks of the same amount.
The original version of the bill, passed in March, would have increased contributions from the state, school districts, and current school employees, while shrinking check 13 down to a $500 cap. The money would have come from $542 million in Texas’ savings account.
