How Much Are Public School Teachers Willing to Pay for Their Retirement Benefits? Comment

In a widely cited study, Fitzpatrick (2015) found that more than one quarter of Illinois teachers were unwilling to pay 19 cents for pension enhancements worth one dollar in present value. We revisit this finding by tracking the same cohort of teachers to retirement, permitting exact measurement of service years and the annuity received. The vast majority of teachers purchased the upgrade. Among those who did not, the net benefit of the upgrade is negative given their retirement timing. The complex relationship between the timing of retirement and potential gain in pension wealth makes drawing inferences about teachers' willingness to pay for this benefit difficult.