P101 Guiding Principles

• Personal - Pension101 strives to consider each pension holder as a unique person with individualized needs, goals, challenges, and career trajectories. Articles are largely based on known educator needs and direct feedback from educators, administrators, school employees, and lawmakers.

• Accurate - Our goal is to provide timely and accurate information and resources to public pension holders and P101 members. We seek out experts in the fields of education, pension planning, pension law, and finance; and carefully edit and curate content for accuracy and timeliness. 

• Unbiased - As an education company, we seek to provide information supported by factual data and law – not on any particular political or economic viewpoint. Information provided by Pension101 is, to the best of our knowledge, current and accurate at the time of publishing. However changes in pension law, tax codes, and individual school district compensation schedules could impact the accuracy of the information on the website. 

• Empowering - It is our focus and goal to empower teachers, school leaders and other educators by providing personalized information in a safe space, place, and time.  We recognize that the vast majority of educators have not been provided with the resources necessary to manage their pensions over the course of their career leading to retirement.

• No Cost - Pension101 is an educational company focused on providing information and resources for public pension holders to be able to make sound financial decisions for retirement. There are no fees for accessing the website, calculators, or articles. Revenue will primarily be generated by partnerships and sponsored content.

P101 Focus Areas

• Explore - Easy to use, incredibly powerful calculators to better understand the nuances of your pension.

• Learn - Curated articles and blog content to answer common concerns for public employees.

• Model - An intuitive platform to model future scenarios and receive personal feedback and resources.

• Grow - Grow as you learn by staying informed about changes impacting your career and retirement.

Ethical Foundation

Writers working for or contributing to the Pension101 platform follow the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing (SABEW) Codes of Ethics. We are also guided by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines on disclosures, when applicable.

The Pension101 platform is intended to be used as a resource for educators and school personnel to explore topics related to pensions and retirement, better understand their own career trajectories, model different retirement scenarios, and grow as they take control of their financial lives. Information is not meant to take the place of professional advice from attorneys, tax professionals, Certified Financial Planners, or other professional financial advisors. The law takes precedence in any areas where there is a conflict.  Estimates are non-binding and all benefits are determined by official retirement law corresponding with particular pensions.  

Writing and Editing Processes

Writers contributing articles or content to the Pension101 platform work through the Pension 101 editorial team, who evaluate all potential published pieces for timeliness, accuracy, relevance, and compliance. Written pieces will never make direct recommendations for the purchase of products or services but will instead concentrate on educating readers as they consider their own decision-making processes around retirement and pension planning. Any contributor to Pension101 content will be responsible for disclosing possible or potential conflicts of interest. Pension 101 will discover and disclose conflicts of interest from contributors on a “best effort” basis. Pension 101 does not give tax, investment, or financial advice.  Any educational information that may be construed as advice should be independently verified by relevant tax, legal, or investment professionals.

Pension 101 carefully curates contributors who possess expertise and experience in the relevant subject matters. Writers are chosen and recruited based on both their demonstrated skills and expertise in specific areas of interest, coupled with their ability to clearly and succinctly articulate content for an educated audience. Any third-party or sponsored content included on the Pension101 platform is aligned with our policies and standards.

Topics We Cover

Pension101 writers and outside contributors cover various topics within six main strands:

• Career Pathing

• Teaching and Learning

• Leadership

• Wellness

• Lifestyle

• Pensions and Finance.

Citations

All content includes relevant, verified, and timely references in the widely accepted MLA format. Pension 101 strives to maintain a high standard of quality of the works cited, however, any claims, guidance, or suggestions from the sources cited will be the responsibility of the original publisher(s) or writer(s).