Eastern retirees and current faculty will have the opportunity to discover ways to proactively address the pension crisis.

Nick Yelverton, legislative director for the Illinois Federation of Teachers, will address Eastern’s employees to safeguard their pensions in these tough economic times.

By Illinois law, contributors to the Teachers’ Retirement System and the State University Retirement System are barred from receiving full Social Security benefits, even when they have been earned from non-education employment, Ed Geppert, IFT President, said to Chicago Tribune.

Audrey Edwards, retiree chapter chair of the Eastern branch of IFT, primarily organized the presentation. As a retired Eastern professor, Edwards receives a state pension instead of social security.

“I’ve paid in my employee share of this fund, but the state hasn’t been paying its share,” she said. “Now legislators are talking about cutting pensions, cutting medical benefits and ending cost-of living adjustments.”

Edwards said state retirees, as well as current state employees, need to know what is happening to their pensions.

John Allison, Eastern’s representative on the executive board of the Universal Professionals of Illinois, said the presentation is going to be a positive approach, instead of reviewing again how dire the situation is.

He said the focus will be on what people can do to try to ensure that the pension systems stay vested and viable for the people who are really worried about it.

Allison said if members of the IFT were within the social security system, the cost to the state would be greater to provide pensions to its employees.

“It’s certainly not going to do the state any good to have tens of thousands of elderly people destitute,” he said. “It doesn’t help the economy, it doesn’t help anyone. (Members of the IFT have) always paid (their) share.”

The presentation will take place Monday in the Charleston-Mattoon Room of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union at 2 p.m.

“We don’t want people to feel hopeless or helpless,” Allison said. “(The presentation) will provide information for people to take active roles, which is certainly much better than doing nothing and just despairing.”

Shelley Holmgren can be reached at 581-7942 or meholmgren@eiu.edu.