State Supreme Court Rules Teachers Must Contribute More Toward Pensions

The Michigan Supreme Court, on a 6-0 ruling, has upheld a state law that requires teachers to increase the amount they must put toward their pension plans.

Under the law, teachers face cuts to their benefits if they don’t put more of their pay toward their pension.

The decision upholds rulings by two lower courts.

Unions had argued against the law. But Justice Stephen Markman wrote that the court held that “the act does not violate any provision of either the Michigan constitution or United States Constitution.

The 2012 law had been put on the books to reduce an unfunded liability in the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System — which at the time was $45 billion — by more than $15 billion.