It’s literally not structured to encourage retention, definitely not at the same school. Those salary schedules on district websites? Those are for new hires. S

It’s literally not structured to encourage retention, definitely not at the same school. Those salary schedules on district websites? Those are for new hires. So someone with 40 years of experience in one school will be paid less than someone hired with 40 years. Raises aren’t at all guaranteed each year and even when you do get them, they often don’t match the salary schedule of someone hired new to the district. Also 40 years of experience doesn’t pay much in general. I was paid more as a new associate developer than I would have with 40 years of experience and a masters degree as a teacher. Pensions don’t have compounding interest, they are defined benefits. And often they are in place of social security (though the amount you pay in as a teacher is basically equivalent to social security taxes). They can be good, but it’s risky and depends on the state. Lots of states like to raid the pension fund and then promise to make it up later (but rarely do). Cutting pensions is also a popular move to score political points, so it’s possible that you could always end up with little to nothing by the time you retire.