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Ohio Retirement for Teachers Association

Fighting for Ohio's teachers since 1947!

ORTA advocates for the pensions and benefits of Ohio's active and retired educators; demands accountability from the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio; and lobbies Ohio's legislators to provide a strong and sustainable retirement system for all Ohio educators, Pre-K through higher education. We rely on membership dues to continue our work.

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Featured Post!

ORTA Staff

21 hours ago2 min read

Blade Editorial: Follow reformers’ lead

While reform board members of the State Teachers of Retirement System of Ohio have not fully implemented transparency of investments and...

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ORTA Endorses Fichtenbaum, Harkness and Smith for STRS Ohio Retirement Board

In spring 2025, STRS Ohio will hold an election for two contributing member seats and one retired member seat on the STRS Ohio Retirement Board.

ORTA is endorsing Rudy Fichtenbaum for re-election to the retired seat. Fichtenbaum is currently serving as the Chair of the STRS Ohio Board.

ORTA is endorsing Michael Harkness and Chad Smith for the two contributing seats. Harkness, who is currently seated on the Board, replaced Steve Foreman, who resigned from the Board in June.

Nomination Petitions

Fictenbaum, Harkness, and Smith are currently collecting signatures for their nomination petitions. Click on a candidate's name to open their nomination petition:

Instructions for Nomination Petitions

Print the nomination petition(s). Electronic petitions will not be accepted by STRS Ohio
Collect signatures.
- For the retired seat, those eligible to sign the nomination petitions are all retired members, including STRS Ohio retirees who are reemployed in an STRS Ohio-covered position. Persons receiving disability benefits and survivor benefits are not eligible to sign this petition.
- For the contributing (active) seats, those eligible to sign the nomination petitions are members presently contributing or those who have contributions on deposit with STRS Ohio. Not eligible to sign this petition are retired teachers or STRS Ohio retirees who are reemployed in an STRS Ohio-covered position, and those who do not have an account with the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio.
Send the petitions to the candidate or to ORTA, allowing enough time for petitions to be received by STRS Ohio by Friday, February 28, 2025, at 4:30 PM.
- Send petitions to ORTA at 250 E. Wilson Bridge Road, Suite 150, Worthington, Ohio 43085. Petitions sent to ORTA will be delivered by hand to STRS Ohio.

ORTA Position on the Election of STRS Ohio Board Candidates

The mission of ORTA is to monitor, advocate for, and protect the pensions and benefits of its members. The Association shall encourage individuals to improve the social and economic changes and issues relevant to their retirement.

ORTA will endorse STRS Ohio Board candidates who actively advocate for transparency of investments and business practices for the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio Pension System. Transparency of Investment practices shall not conflict with Ohio Revised Code 3307.15. In particular, Section 3307.15. (e), states, “Any statement of financial position distributed by the board shall include the fair value, as of the statement date, of all investments held by the board under this section.”

ORTA believes that once elected, Board members serving as our fiduciaries should adopt a prudent investor approach and avoid investments where the investment’s fair value cannot be independently determined. ORTA supports Board members and STRS management in exploring investments and investment strategies that might bring additional revenues into the pension plan to restore, maintain, or enhance member benefits. ORTA encourages the Board to predetermine a reasonable dollar allocation while vetting such investments and investment strategies to avoid jeopardizing the fiscal integrity of the pension system.

Approved by ORTA Executive Council 5/21/2024

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Executive Director Robin Rayfield reflects on ORTA’s many successes in 2024

We’re incredibly thankful for the strong support of our thousands of members. Your dedication helps make our voice the loudest and strongest advocate for a better pension system for Ohio’s teachers—both active and retired.

Watch as Executive Director Robin Rayfield reflects on ORTA’s many successes this year. From reforms with the STRS Board to our push for transparency, legal victories against the Governor, and strong advocacy for COLAs, Robin covers it all—and much more.

Pension Defense Fund Update!

ORTA launched the Pension Defense Fund in May of 2023. This fund was established to collect and hold for disbursement financial resources for activities that would advance ORTA mission to protect pensions of STRS members. The impetus for the establishment of this fund was Governor DeWine’s illegal removal of Wade Steen from the STRS Pension Board.

ORTA collected over $87,000 that paid the legal fees of Wade Steen in his successful challenge to be reinstated to the STRS Board. As soon as Mr. Steen returned to his seat by the appellate court, the governor and Attorney General Yost launched a new attack on STRS board members Steen and Fichtenbaum. On the basis of an anonymous letter from STRS staff, Mr. Yost has attacked reform board members Steen and Fichtenbaum. Despite the fact that Mr. Steen’s term expired in September, Mr. Yost’s persecution of both Steen and Fichtenbaum continues. ORTA’s pension defense fund has, again, stepped forward to protect these two outstanding men. Thus far ORTA’s expenses in defense of reform at STRS are as follows:

Mr. Steen’s case to reclaim his legal seat on the STRS board - $87,368.28

Mr. Fichtenbaum’s defense of the attack by the A.G. - $35,869.00

The pension defense fund continues to collect donations towards this worthy cause. Without Steen and Fichtenbaum none of the reforms that have occurred would have been possible.

The 3% COLA granted in 2022, and the 1% COLA granted the following year would never have occurred without Rudy and Wade’s leadership. The promised supplemental benefit for December of this year would never have been put forward without their leadership. The exit of the executive director and the acting executive director would not have happened without reform minded men such as these. ORTA needs your help to continue to fight the legal challenges from state officials that are opposed to reform at our pension. ORTA urges you to consider donating to the Pension Defense Fund.

You can donate online or send a check to ORTA Pension Defense Fund at
250 E. Wilson Bridge Road
Suite 150
Worthington, Ohio 43085.

Also, it is important to note that Wade Steen has taken legal action to get reimbursed for his expenses in his Quo Warrento (getting reinstated to his rightful seat on the STRS board) case. I am unsure how long such an action takes but the process has begun.

Robin Rayfield, Executive Director
November 2024

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ORTA advocates for the pensions and benefits of Ohio's educators, demands accountability from STRS Ohio, and lobbies Ohio's legislators to provide a strong and sustainable retirement system. We rely on membership dues to continue our work.

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Chapter Grants & Scholaships

Many ORTA chapters offer classroom grants, continuing education scholarships, and scholarships for graduating seniors.

Use the list of ORTA Chapters to find out if your local chapter offers grants and scholarships.

ORTA chapters

AMBA Webinars 2024

ORTA has partnered with AMBA to offer a series of short webinars about important topics like long term care, Medicare, medical transportation, and more. The talks are educational and informative. Retirees often tell us that they are thankful for the overview and knowledge they gain. Join us for the next one, and invite a friend!