Many factors go into a teacher's salary and pension

I am writing in response to Matthew Marlin's letter concerning the pension multiplier for Pennsylvania teachers ("This Pension Multiplier Increase Will Take a Toll on Taxpayers," Dec. 21). Dr. Marlin needs to get his facts straight. He may be an economics professor (read teacher), but he seems to be unaware of the facts concerning teacher pensions.

A teacher's salary is determined upon a variety of factors: how much education he/she has, his or her number of years of service, postgraduate credits, any extracurricular activities he or she may participate in such as sports, theater, music rehearsals, etc. Many teachers give time and effort well beyond what their salaries indicate.

Probably most important, a teacher's final salary computation is based on an average of his or her final three years of service, not the final salary. I don't know too many teachers who retired making $80,000 as their final average. Most averages are much less than $80,000. Many teachers retire with a minimum of 30 to 35 years of service.

I contributed to my own pension, as does every teacher in the state.

At the moment there is no cost-of-living adjustment for retired teachers. That is one thing that Harrisburg is neglecting.

JANET (COOKIE) ELBLING
Squirrel Hill