Teacher pension boost muddles county budget

For more than 35 years, Montgomery County teachers have done better in retirement than their peers statewide. Now the recent move by the Maryland General Assembly to improve teacher pensions could prove costly for the county.

In 1968, the county pulled out of the state retirement system and created a new retirement accountpegged to the state’s rate, plus 10 percent, school system benefits manager Wes Girling said. Maryland reimburses the county for its share of teachers’ pensions, and Montgomery funds the extra.