The Over Paid Teacher
There’s a lot of people out there who talk about teacher salaries in the abstract—“They’re overpaid! They’re underpaid! They’re paid just right!”, etc. Since teacher salaries are a matter of public record there’s not a whole lot to be argued about there, but what about the other numbers like benefits, retirement, etc.?
On Friday I got my annual statement summarizing all my paychecks for the year. I give you those numbers here so that you can know exactly what it’s like.
Oh, but there were other deductions:
What’s that Section 125 ME number? That’s what I pay in health insurance out of pocket per year, or about $340 a month. If anyone tells you that all teachers get their health insurance paid for, slap them with a trout. Know too that I voluntarily put far more into my retirement plan than I have to, but on TRS3 if you don’t save for yourself you’re absolutely screwed.
This is my reality. What's yours?
On Friday I got my annual statement summarizing all my paychecks for the year. I give you those numbers here so that you can know exactly what it’s like.
- Social security wages: $42,864.02
- Wages, tips, other compensation: $35,822.74
- Federal income tax withheld: $4,390.32
- Social security tax withheld: $2,657.56
- Medicare tax withheld: $621.53
Oh, but there were other deductions:
- L&I: $48.72
- Section 125 ME: $4,077.82
- Union Dues: $732.64
- Retirement: $7,041.28
What’s that Section 125 ME number? That’s what I pay in health insurance out of pocket per year, or about $340 a month. If anyone tells you that all teachers get their health insurance paid for, slap them with a trout. Know too that I voluntarily put far more into my retirement plan than I have to, but on TRS3 if you don’t save for yourself you’re absolutely screwed.
This is my reality. What's yours?
Labels: insurance, pay, salary, teacher salaries
posted by Ryan at 10:29 PM
2 Comments:
Hey.
The value of the state-provided benefits for you was $14,473. I wonder if your out-of-pocket was because of the nature of the benefit package negotiated for you? I've heard that the quality of teacher benefits exceeds that of state employees--and you pay out of pocket more than state employees do.
I've heard deeper darker theories about why teacher benefits turn out the way they do--rumors of union-health insurer coziness. Never was able to substantiate.
jl
And if we compare our take-home wages with the cost-of-living in the US, it looks even grimmer. Especially with how ugly everything is looking on the housing front.
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