State Budget Finalization/STRS Rate Increases

Faculty Colleagues,

By now you have probably read many messages concerning the finalization of the state budget.  Essentially there were no changes in addition to my earlier communication dated June 11 below.  The final changes to the STRS contribution rates are delineated in the table below.  Bottom line:  effective July 1, 2014, all faculty who are members of CalSTRS will see their contribution rate increased from the current 8.00% to 8.15%.  In subsequent years, the employee contribution rate increase will vary depending on when you first became a member of CalSTRS.

STRS Contribution Rates Adopted Budget
	Employer	Employee (pre-2013 STRS member)	Employee (post-2013 STRS member)	State
2013-14	8.25%	8.00%	8.00%	3.04%
2014-15	8.63	8.15	8.15	3.45
2015-16	10.48	9.20	8.56	4.89
2016-17	12.33	10.25	9.205	6.33
2017-18	14.18	10.25	9.205	6.33
2018-19	16.03	10.25	9.205	6.33
2019-20	17.88	10.25	9.205	6.33
2020-21	18.85	10.25	9.205	6.33

You don’t need any advanced math skills to figure out that the 0.15% STRS contribution rate increase coupled with the 0.85% final approved COLA means a fairly lean year ahead.  We need to hope that we are able to capture a significant percentage of growth funds if we hope to see much of an increase in compensation in the coming year.

If you’re not happy with this state of affairs, the best thing you can do is to write to the Governor and express your displeasure.  We had a solid budget package get all the way through the legislature (see my email message dated May 22 below).  It was the negotiation with the Governor that killed the deal.  The best way to ensure your message is heard is to fax your comments to 916-558-3160 or US mail to: