LINCOLN- The troubled pension fund for Omaha teachers has shown improvement over the past five years, rising from 53% fully funded to around 63%

Since 2014, the Nebraska Legislature has required local government pension systems that are less than 80% funded to report to the Retirement Committee on how the organization plans to fix it and increase funding.

This requirement came after the Omaha fire and police pension system was on the verge of collapse ten years ago, and has worked quite well in allowing organizations to create strategic plans to increase funding.

In yesterday's report to the Retirement Committee, it was revealed that only six defined-benefit programs run by local governments were less than 80% funded, and some have slipped even further to the point where certain organizations are unable to contribute the recommended amount to pension systems.

Sen. Mark Kolterman, who heads the Retirement Committee, was not happy to hear the news. "It's almost like anything we've asked here has fallen on deaf ears," he said, "It's blatant disrespect for the employees and the citizens of Omaha."

Despite the falling behind of certain expected contributions, Kolterman said several of the reforms created since 2014, including the decreasing of some benefits, have worked rather well, and are allowing some pension systems to be fully funded earlier than expected.

Despite this, Logan said she is worried that if the district receives a decrease in state aid, OPS won't be able to allocate excess funding toward the schoolteacher pension fund.

Reforming the state's school aid program was a key talking point in Governor-elect Jim Pillen's campaign. His proposed changes, if passed, are expected to cost school districts about $270 million a year. This would greatly affect the amount school districts would be able to put towards pensions.

Logan said she is unsure if these changes will be approved by the Nebraska Legislature, but stated that it would be wise to be prepared for them.

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