Data and Code for: How Much Are Public School Teachers Willing to Pay for Their Retirement Benefits? Comment

In a widely-cited study, Fitzpatrick (2015) found that more than a quarter of Illinois teachers were unwilling to pay 19 cents for pension enhancements worth one dollar in present value. We revisit this finding by tracking the same cohort of teachers to retirement, which permits exact measurement of service years and the annuity received. The vast majority of teachers purchased the upgrade. Among most of the teachers who did not, the net benefit of the upgrade is negative given their retirement timing choices. The complex relationship between the timing of retirement and the potential gain in pension wealth in the Illinois experience makes it difficult to draw inferences about teachers' willingness to pay for an increase in retirement benefits.