In Puerto Rico, Teachers’ Pension Fund Works Like a Ponzi Scheme
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Juliana Soto, 27, and Edwin Morales, 32, who work in public schools in Puerto Rico, with their son, Lorenzo. The couple are concerned that their pensions will not be reliable when they are old enough to benefit from them. CreditDennis M. Rivera Pichardo for The New York Times
The teachers’ pension fund in Puerto Rico looks very much like a legalized Ponzi scheme — one that might hold a warning for teachers across America.
Puerto Rico, where the money to pay teachers’ pensions is expected to run out next year, has become a particularly extreme example of a problem facing states including Illinois, New Jersey and Pennsylvania: As teachers’ pension costs keep rising, young teachers are being squeezed — sometimes hard. One study found that more than three-fourths of all American teachers hired at age 25 will end up paying more into pension plans than they ever get back…
In Puerto Rico, Teachers’ Pension Fund Works Like a Ponzi Scheme
