Picture this: Nevada’s pension system is already leaking billions, and now someone’s trying to add yet another expense to the long list of PERS accounts! Ready to dive into why this could be a disaster for Nevada’s taxpayers and schools? Let’s go!
What is AB 232?
AB 232 is a bill in Nevada that wants to give school district employees—like teachers or staff—a full year of retirement credit in the state’s pension system (called PERS) if they work just 900 hours in a school year. That’s about 22 weeks of full-time work—less than half a year. Sounds generous, right? But here’s the catch: it’s a generosity Nevada can’t afford, and it doesn’t even tackle the real issues in our schools.
The Pension Problem Nevada’s Already Facing
Nevada’s Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS) is like a bank account that’s supposed to pay out pensions to state workers when they retire. Problem is, it’s already in deep trouble. As of 2021, PERS had $58.3 billion in the bank but owed $76.6 billion to future retirees. That’s a shortfall—or “unfunded liability”—of $18.3 billion. And that’s the rosy version! Experts say the real gap could be closer to $41 billion because the official numbers don’t fully account for financial risks. Back in 2010, PERS reported a $10.4 billion shortfall when the true number was about $41 billion. Yikes.
Now, AB 232 wants to pile on more promises—giving full retirement credit for part-time work—without adding more money to cover it. That means taxpayers, you and me, will be left picking up the tab down the road when the system runs even shorter.
Why This Won’t Help Education
The idea behind AB 232 seems to be to lure more people into teaching jobs with a sweet pension deal. But here’s the thing: Nevada doesn’t need to bribe people into education with retirement perks—it needs teachers who are in it for the kids, not the cash. Right now, entry-level teaching jobs are already pretty competitive. In Clark County, a new teacher with a bachelor’s degree makes just under $60,000 a year. The average teacher salary in 2023 was $87,444. That’s solid pay! So why dangle extra pension benefits for working less than half a year when we could use that money to make schools better instead?
Nevada’s education system has real challenges—student achievement, teacher burnout, keeping good educators around. AB 232 doesn’t fix any of that. It just makes teaching a part-time gig look like a golden ticket to retirement, which might attract people more interested in benefits than in helping kids succeed.
A Better Way Forward
Instead of pouring more strain onto an already shaky pension system, Nevada should focus on what really matters: making teaching a great job because of the work itself. That means better support for teachers, more chances to grow in their careers, and policies that boost student success—not handing out pension bonuses for part-time hours.
The Bottom Line
AB 232 might sound like a nice pat on the back for school workers, but it’s a bad deal for Nevada. It adds billions in future costs to a pension system that’s already underwater, and it doesn’t make our schools any better. Taxpayers will pay more, and students won’t learn more. That’s why many are urging lawmakers to say “no” to this bill and focus on real fixes instead.
What do you think—should Nevada double down on pensions, or double down on education? Let’s talk about it.
(Want to dig deeper? Check out this chart from Nevada Policy showing PERS’ financial mess.)
Tell the Committee to Vote NO
Use the form below to send an email to each member of the committee, asking them to vote no on this dangerous bill.
