Are teachers losing out on thousands of dollars in potential extra pay because states are behind on maintaining pensions?

In a new study released by TeacherPensions.org, Chad Aldeman relied on federal data to compare the wages and benefits of public-school teachers to those of other workers. He found that states and districts on average put 12 percent of teacher salaries toward the pension programs millions of school employees rely on for their retirement. That means more than $6,800 public dollars per teacher go toward supporting the pension funds states and districts promised to maintain.