Old-age support of women teachers, provisions for old age made by women teachers in the public schools of Massachusetts

Introduction

This account of the provisions for old-age support made by Massachusetts school teachers, and of their conditions of living during the period after retirement from active services, is a preliminary report of a co-operative investigation in which it is hoped to enlist groups of students, teachers and college graduates in many parts of the country. The undertaking was launched in December, 1919, when, on the recommendation of its Research Committee, the American Sociological Society authorized a continuation of its earlier efforts to promote a more definite focusing of the research activities of its members. 1 The need of the results of sound, inductive studies as a basis for activities by which the civilized world might retrieve some of the losses of the war; the difficulties of obtaining the financial support required for social research with the assistance of paid field workers; the waste of effort involved in the directing of students in innumerable minor investigations whose value must be slight because of necessary limitations in scope; and the example of the National Research Council's plans for the promotion of co-operative research in the natural sciences, all supplied potent arguments in support of the suggestion that members of the Sociological Society should be invited to co-operate in a centrally directed study whose results could be based on a mass of facts sufficient to give validity to generalizations and to justify the heavy costs of publication. Iff/The superior facilities for conducting such an investigation supplied by the Research Department of the Women's Educational and Industrial Union of Boston, prompted the recommendation that its director be authorized to supervise, and prepare the final report of, the first experimental effort at co-operative social re-

lArticles telling of the plans for this and similar co-operative investigations were printed in the American Journal of Sociology, March, 1920, p. 568, and in the Journal of the Association of Collegiate Alumnae, March and April, 1920, p. 14.

search. The subject, "How Self-Supporting Women May Provide For Their Old Age," was suggested because this topic seemed adapted to the group of full-time investigators who would work under Miss Eaves' personal supervision and, at the same t im e, was of sufficient general interest to appeal to students and women college graduates in all sections of the country. Its varied social significance is shown by the tentative generalizations of the final chapter of the present report. There will be many opportunities for lively debates in any group enlisting in the study of such a topic !

The American Association of University Women (formerly the Association of Collegiate Alumnae) has joined with the Sociological Society in the effort to promote co-operative social research. A national research committee has been organized and local committees are being established in many branches. Five of these committees are now enlisted in this first co-operative study, and no doubt other branches will be ready to contribute to the undertaking during the coming year. The gathering of facts which can be published in reports furnishing a scientific foundation for constructive betterment activities is a fitting service for organizations of women graduates of universities, and it seems probable that co-operative social research may become an important part of the activities of the newly reorganized Association.

Contributions to the present study of old-age provision by self-supporting women may be made in three ways:

First, individuals who read this preliminary discussion may send information about their own or their friends experiences which is like that embodied in this report, and so suitable for incorporation in the final presentation of the results of the co-operative investigation.

Second, any group of students or self-supporting women may read this report of the experiences of Massachusetts teachers and discuss carefully the questions presented in its summary chapter. The results of such debates will have much scientific value since they will be based on varied experiences in many sections of the country. A secretary should summarize the conclusions reached and her report should be submitted for endorsement by the group before it is forwarded to Boston for use in the final volume.

Third, groups of university graduates or students may make studies of teachers or of other self-supporting women similar in

OLD-AGE SUPPOET OF WOMEN TEACHEES 5

scope to those made in the Research Department of the Women's Educational and Industrial Union of Boston. Assistance in such investigations will be given by Miss Eaves or by sociology professors in neighboring universities.

Additional reports dealing with older women employed in Boston retail stores, with workers in Lynn boot and shoe factories, and with the records of insurance companies, are available for the guidance of co-operating investigators. The results of their studies may be published in local papers and then forwarded to Boston for use in the summary of findings which may thus be made national in scope.

This preliminary report is an exemplification of the policies which we wish to promote in the investigations of wider scope. Many persons contributed the facts presented in the tables and charts. We avail ourselves of this opportunity to extend hearty thanks to the school officials who assisted our field workers by supplying records or by arranging opportunities for interviews; to tired teachers who remained after school hours in order to answer questions which seemed somewhat personal; to correspondents from many parts of the state who wrote delightful letters giving us the benefit of their experiences; and to officials in charge of the records of the Boston and the Massachusetts Teachers' Retirement Funds. The four fellows of the Research Department, working under my direction, visited the retired Boston teachers, copied records and prepared the tables and charts. We co-operated in the preparation of the outline of topics to be discussed in the final report, and then divided the labors of literary presentation in the manner suggested by the names attached to the different chapters of the book. In order to give greater unity to the final report and to bring the material within the limits of our resources for publication, some editing and revising of these chapters have been necessary. Miss Caroline E. Heermann, my research assistant, has verified our tables and copied our manuscripts. If groups of investigators in other parts of the country will combine varied talents in promoting similar studies, the final outcome of our experiment in co-operative research will be a volume of great interest and of general significance.

Lucile Eaves, Director Research Department,

Women's Educational and Industrial Union.

Contents

PAGE

INTRODUCTION 3-5

By Lucile Eaves

Chapter I— Personal Characteristics And Length Of Service Of Women Teachers

OF MASSACHUSETTS

By Elna Anderson

Sources of information — Characteristics of the group studied —

Length of service. 11-23

Chapter Ii— Economic Status Of Massachusetts Women Teachers While In Active Service

By Mabel A. Strong

Salary schedules by types of schools — Uses made of earnings — Amounts spent for board and room — Investments for further education and travel — Support of dependents — Expenditures for health — Supplementary sources of income — Part-time work — Aid from relatives — Inheritances — Savings and their investments — Age periods when savings were made — Methods of investing savings — Plans for saving — Conclusions. 24-38

CHAPTER III— RESOURCES OF MASSACHUSETTS WOMEN TEACHERS AT THE TIME OF RETIREMENT By Alice Channing

History of teachers' pensions in Massachusetts — Voluntary mutual benefit societies — Massachusetts Annuity Guild — First legislation establishing the Boston Teachers' Retirement Fund Association in 1900 — Legislation providing publicly supported pension systems — Boston pension acts of 1908 and 1910 — Massachusetts state pension system — Comparison of the Boston and State systems — Amounts of pensions received — Disability allowances of Boston and State teachers — Amount necessary to supplement pensions — Savings as a resource for after-retirement support — Value of savings measured in annuities — Reasons for small amounts saved — Large savings of exceptional women — Total income received by Boston teachers from earnings and pensions — Sources from which incomes from earnings are supplemented — Conclusions 39-62

PAGE

Chapter Iv— Old-age Living Conditions Of Retired Boston Teachers

Probable length of life after retirement — What becomes of the teacher after retirement — Living arrangements — Dependents — Extent of financial independence — Old or young companions — General social interests — Part-time work — General valuation of the old-age life of teachers. 63-84

CHAPTER V— QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION BY CO- OPERATING INVESTIGATORS By Lucile Eaves

1. What proportion of the teachers depend on their own exertions

for means of support after retirement from active services?

2. Would it be reasonable to maintain that, during the period of

gainful employment, a self-supporting woman should make the portion of her old-age provision which a well-planned life would assign to those years?

3. Is it probable that the unmarried women of the family will ac-

cept an increasing burden of responsibility for the care of its dependents?

4. How will these altruistic services affect their ability to make

necessary provision for old-age incapacity?

5. What forms of old-age insurance are best adapted to the needs

of self-supporting women?

6. When should teachers begin setting aside savings for old age?

7. What forms of investment are best suited to the needs of teach-

ers?

8. How may teachers co-operate in making provision for old age?

9. What avocations are suited to the period after retirement? 10. What personal and social adjustments have been found to promote the happiness of retired teachers or other older professional women? 85-100

Care of Older Women Employes by Boston Retail Stores. Statistical Tables Cited in the Text. List of Unpublished Statistical Tables. Schedules 101-120

LIST OF CHARTS

CHART PAGE

I. Ages of Retirement of Boston Women Teachers, 1908-1920 . . 15

II. Ages of Retirement of Massachusetts Women Teachers, 1914-1920 17

III. Length of Service of Boston Teachers, 1900-1920 23

IV. Methods of Spending Margin of Income Above Cost of Necessities

During Definite Age Periods, by Active Massachusetts Women

V. Percentage Distribution of After-Retirement Allowances Received

by Massachusetts Women Teachers 49

VI. Relative Standards of Living of Boston Retired Teachers ... 67

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE PAGE

1. Ages of Retirement of Boston Women Teachers, 1908-1920 ... 14

2. Ages of Retirement of Massachusetts Women Teachers, 1914-1920 . 16

3. Condition of Faculties of 115 Retired Boston Teachers .... 18

4. Length of Service of Massachusetts Women Teachers Prior to Sep-

5. Length of Service of Retired Boston Women Teachers .... 19

6. Length of Service of Retired Massachusetts Women Teachers . . 20

7. Length of Service in Boston Schools of Women Teachers as Indi-

cated by Changes Noted at Five- Year Intervals in the Names Registered in the Boston Educational Directory — Percentages (Numbers in Table 22) 22

8. Amounts of Earnings Remaining to Massachusetts Teachers after

the Average Cost of Board and Room has been Deducted from the Average Salary 27

9. The Age Periods Covered in Reports of Experiences Furnished by

190 Active Massachusetts Teachers 28

10. Average Savings of Active Massachusetts Women Teachers in Given

1 1 . Forms of Investment Reported by 174 Active Massachusetts Women

12. City of Boston Pensions to which Retired Teachers are Entitled . . 46

13. Total Pensions from all Sources Received by a Sample Group of Re-

tired Boston Women Teachers 50

14. Funds Accumulated from Savings by a Sample Group of Boston Re-

tired Teachers 53

15. Annual Incomes of Retired Boston Teachers from Pensions and Sav-

ings from Salaries 57

16. Number of Years Intervening Between Retirement and Death of

Women Teachers Based on Records of the Teachers' Retirement Association, 1900-1920 65

17. Living Arrangements of Retired Boston Women Teachers ... 70

18. Dependents Cared for by Retired Boston Women Teachers . . 71

19. Nature of the Relationship of Dependents Cared for by Boston

Women Teachers and the Kind of Help Rendered 72

20. Occupations of Retired Boston Women Teachers 80

TABLE PAGE

21. Length of Service of 190 Active Massachusetts Women Teachers

(Sample Group for whom Schedules were Obtained) .... 109

22. Length of Service in Boston Schools of Women Teachers as Indicated

by Changes Noted at Five- Year Intervals in the Names Registered in the Boston Educational Directory — Numbers (Percentages in Table 7) 109

23. Age Periods when Active Massachusetts Teachers Reported Ex-

24. Age Periods when 147 Active Massachusetts Teachers Had Depend-

ents no

25. Age Periods when 174 Active Massachusetts Women Teachers

Made Savings HI

26. Age Periods when 174 Active Women Teachers Made Investments 111

27. Amount of Support Given to Dependents by 147 Active Massachu-

setts Women Teachers 112

28. Methods by which Active Massachusetts Teachers Supplemented

Their Salaries 112

29. Savings of Active Massachusetts Women Teachers 113

30. Annual Allowances Paid from the Massachusetts Teachers' Retire-

31. After Retirement Allowances Received by Massachusetts Women

32. Pension Received from City of Boston by a Sample Group of Retired

Boston Women Teachers 114

33. Expectation of Life of Women at Different Ages Based on The Ameri-

can Experience Table Mortality Rates 115

34. Ages at Death of Retired Massachusetts Women Teachers 1914-

PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS AND LENGTH OF

SERVICE OF WOMEN TEACHERS OF

MASSACHUSETTS

CHAPTER I Sources of Information

The statistical background for this study of the old-age support of Massachusetts school teachers was furnished by the following public records and reports : The Massachusetts Teachers' Retirement Association, the Boston Teachers' Retirement Fund Association, the reports of the Boston Teachers' Mutual Benefit Association, the Massachusetts Annuity Guild, the Boston Teachers' Relief Fund, the reports of the Boston School Committee, the report of the Massachusetts Special Commission on Teachers' Salaries (1920), the report of the Massachusetts Commission on Pensions (1914), and the report of the Joint Special Committee on Pensions (1921).

In order to give life to the study, personal visits were made to about 150 Boston active and retired teachers. School officials and officers of the various teachers' organizations were consulted to learn the history of the efforts to provide for a comfortable old age and to obtain details of the various pension plans. Visits to the teachers were time-consuming, since only one or two could be interviewed in each visit made after the close of school, and so it was decided to complete the collection of data by correspondence. About 1500 letters and questionnaires were sent to Boston and Massachusetts women teachers who had served for fifteen years or more. One hundred and eighty-five letters were sent to Boston retired teachers who could not be reached by personal visits. As is commonly the experience of investigators, only a small per cent (13) responded. Some of these replies were incomplete but gave interesting bits of information which have been used in the general discussions. Three hundred and five schedules were sufficiently complete for tabulation. This number included 115 retired Boston teachers and 190 active teachers of whom 105 were state and 85 were Boston teachers.

Characteristics of the Group Studied

Undoubtedly New England traditions have been preserved more completely in Massachusetts because of the influence of its public school teachers. More than 90 per cent of the Massachusetts teachers who were studied and 80 per cent of their mothers and fathers were natives of New England. The fact that so many teachers have continued to live in their home towns with their families may be an explanation of their willingness to accept the low salaries which have been characteristic of New England schools. Of the teachers who were not natives of New England, only 2 per cent were foreign born and less than 20 per cent of their parents were foreign born. Practically all of these foreign born teachers and parents came from England or some of the British possessions. There may be subtle variations by nativities in devotion to family, willingness to make sacrifices for relatives and natural ability to save for old age, but the data obtained in the course of this investigation are not sufficiently complete for such generalizations.

Practically all of the group studied were unmarried. Of the 190 active teachers, 182 were single, 5 married and 3 widowed. Of the 115 Boston retired teachers, 103 were single, 1 married, 1 divorced and 10 widowed. The fact that 93 per cent of the teachers had never assumed the responsibilities of married life does not imply that these women were free from family cares. It will be shown later in the discussion that they had many family responsibilities which lessened seriously their ability to accumulate savings for use after retirement from active service.

Massachusetts teachers are a well-trained group of professional women. Of those whose records were studied in the course of this investigation, practically all were high school graduates. About three-fifths of the active teachers and more than two-fifths of the retired teachers were graduates of normal schools; one-fifth of the active teachers were college or university graduates; and a few had advanced degrees or had attended graduate schools. Education tends to raise the standard of living, as it develops a taste for such things as travel, books and good music. It will be seen readily that the living conditions of teachers must be better than those of many groups of working women, and that, in order to insure their happiness after retirement, there should be no serious decline from the standards to which they have become accustomed.

A discussion of the health of teachers is limited by the lack of general morbidity statistics, making comparisons impossible. Some interesting facts were brought out by the investigation, however. Teaching is an arduous occupation which demands the best that the teacher has to give. On the other hand, one would expect teachers to understand the fundamentals of the care of health, and they have long vacations for recuperation. Both points of view were impressed upon the investigators who visited the Boston retired teachers. Some of the teachers were found to be worn out by long service; others were vigorous in spite of advanced years. An illustration of the latter case was Miss Z, who was eighty-six years old when interviewed. Her life had been one of unusual activity in her profession and of service to her friends and relatives, and her health had always been excellent. She advised other teachers "to work — and live simply." Of the 115 retired teachers ^ studied, 45 reported good health, 43 average and 27 poor. Diseases of the nervous system were the most frequent of the ailments reported.

No accurate data could be obtained to show the number of teachers retiring for disability, because "length of service" is recorded whenever possible to avoid the inconvenience of a medical examination which is required of invalidity annuitants under the regulations of the Boston Retirement Fund. Some idea of the number of those retiring for disability may be gained by noting the ages of retirement. It is unnatural that a teacher should wish to leave her profession within a few years of the age when she could retire with a full pension, unless she is incapacitated in some way. The recent report of the Joint Special Committee on Pensions 1 shows that of the teachers retiring under the provisions of the Boston pension system, about one-third retired before the age of sixty, one-half before sixty-five and about three-fourths before seventy. Table 1.

TABLE 1. AGES OF RETIREMENT OF BOSTON WOMEN TEACHERS. 1 1908-1920

AGES

Teachers of Ages Specified who Retired in 1908 to 1920

242 84 37 58 63 2

100.0

70 to 74 years,

34.7 15.3 24.0 26.0 lData taken from Report of the Joint Special Committee on Pensions (1921) , pp. 144-153. Sixty teachers who retired under special provision are omitted. Mass. Acts of 1910, Chap. 617.

2Forty-nine teachers (20.2 per cent) retired at the age of 70.

Many of the retired teachers retained full possession of their faculties as is shown by Table 3.

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TABLE 2. AGES OF RETIREMENT OF MASSACHUSETTS WOMEN TEACHERS. 1914-1920

Number of Teachers of Ages Specified Who Retired in 1914-1920

AGES

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All ages,

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14 8

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TABLE 3. CONDITION OF FACULTIES OF 115 RETIRED BOSTON

Total, .

Hearing, Sight, .

Memory,

Number of Teachers Reporting Faculties as Specified;

Sound

Impaired

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Superior qualities of character of the retired and older active teachers impressed the investigators during their visits. The highmindedness of these teachers, devotion to their profession, a beautiful self-sacrificing spirit toward relatives and friends who needed their help, and a sweet, wholesome view of life were met with daily. Surely the generation of children who have been privileged to come under the influence of these superior women have profited by such an experience! Does the present generation of school children come under the guidance of as fine a type of teachers as has that of the past — is a question which each community should consider. The question was raised during the investigation: "Were the exceptionally pleasing characteristics of the retired teachers the results of superior birth and breeding, or the product of the discipline of a long life of unselfish efforts for others?"

Length of Service

Contrary to popular assumption, a large number of women make teaching their life work. Ten per cent of the Massachusetts teachers in service January 1, 1920, had taught thirty or more years and nearly 40 per cent had taught fifteen or more years. Table 4. About 75 per cent of the retired Boston teachers and nearly 80 per cent of the state retired teachers served in the profession for more than thirty years. Tables 4 and 5.

Many teachers give years of service to one community. Nearly two-fifths of the Massachusetts teachers have served for ten or more years in the city or town where they are now employed. About three-fifths of the Boston teachers have served in that city for ten or more years. Tables 7 and 22. This condition has

TABLE 4. LENGTH OF SERVICE OF MASSACHUSETTS WOMEN TEACHERS PRIOR TO SEPTEMBER 1, 1919 1

YEARS OF EXPERIENCE

None,

Less than 1 year, . 1 year and less than 5, 5 years and less than 10, 10 years and less than 15, 15 years and less than 20, 20 years and less than 25, 25 years and less than 30, 30 years and less than 40, 40 or more years,

Number of Teachers whose Years of Service Were as Specified:

17,442

3,886

3,497

2,424

2,106

1,563

1,226

1,341

4.0

1.7

22.3

20.1

13.9

12.1

9.0

7.0

7.7

2.3 l Applies to teachers in service January 1, 1920. Data obtained from Report of Commission on Teachers' Salaries, pp. 129-130.

TABLE 5. LENGTH OF SERVICE OF RETIRED BOSTON WOMEN

YEARS OF SERVICE

Total, . . . .

20 years or less,

21 to 25 years, 26 to 30 years, 31 to 35 years, 36 to 40 years, 41 to 45 years, 46 to 50 years,

51 years and more,

Number of Teachers Whose Length of Service was as Specified :

9.3

7.9

8.9

22.2

13.6

19.9

14.6

3.6 lData obtained from the Report of the Joint Special Committee on Pensions, pp. 144-153.

TABLE 6. LENGTH OF SERVICE OF RETIRED MASSACHUSETTS WOMEN TEACHERS 1

YEARS OF SERVICE

Total, . . . .

20 years or less,

21 to 25 years, 26 to 30 years, 31 to 35 years, 36 to 40 years, 41 to 45 years, 46 to 50 years,

51 years and more,

Number of Teachers Whose Length of Service was as Specified:

3.9

7.3

10.1

17.3

18.7

22.1

17.3

3.3 lData obtained from Report of the Joint Special Commission on Pensions, pp. 71-82.

changed slightly in the last twenty years. There seems to be a tendency for teachers to remain in the Boston schools longer than they did formerly. Chart III.

The pension provisions which went into effect in Boston in 1908 and in the state outside of Boston in 1914, have undoubtedly encouraged teachers to remain in the profession. Of course the law now bars those who might wish to teach after the age of seventy, but Boston teachers show a tendency to teach up to the age of seventy. Chart I. Since 1914 sixty and seventy years have been the most frequent ages of retirement for the state teachers. Chart II.

It is evident that there is a considerable number of women who have given the best of their earning years to teaching in the public schools. Teachers are retired with the assumption that they are no longer fit for service and it is too late for them to find another occupation. One teacher writes dramatically: "I can imagine nothing more pitiful than the old teacher. She has given body, mind and soul to her work. She has been expected to keep herself up to the mark. There have been no exemptions because of advancing age. Up to the moment of 69 years, 364 days she has been assumed to be absolutely efficient and ready to adopt any new work or fad proposed. And then — the clock strikes 70! And she is thrown out as useless clay. Tell a child he is useless and you take a long step toward making him so. Tell a woman she is worthless — well, is it any wonder our retired teachers age years in the first few months when their life interest is denied them, their worthlessness thrust upon them, and they can only grope pitifully?"

It has been shown that there is a considerable number of women who have made teaching their life work, and who have given years of service to one community. These teachers have a right to expect a comfortable living during both active and retired periods. Support for the after retirement period must come either from savings or from some form of pension. The extent to which these are available for the women teachers of Massachusetts will be shown in the following chapters.

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OLD-AGE SUPPORT OF WOMEN TEACHEES

Chapter II

ECONOMIC STATUS OF MASSACHUSETTS WOMEN TEACHERS WHILE IN ACTIVE SERVICE

INTRODUCTION

Has the average woman teacher in the Massachusetts schools received a sufficient salary during the past 30 years to enable her to make adequate provision for her old age?

It has been shown that the average teacher who makes teaching her life work has an income period 1 long enough to provide for the years after retirement. Whether or not this provision is made depends on three things: 1st, the amount of the salary; 2nd, the portion of the earnings which are spent in providing for the teacher and her dependents; 3rd, the accumulation of savings through individual thrift. Let us consider the first of these factors.

AMOUNTS OF EARNINGS

Incredibly low initial salaries were received by Massachusetts teachers. One woman writes us, "I began teaching at a salary of $180 a year." Imagine trying to live and save on a salary which paid less than 50 cents a day! We must remember that, though a teacher may work only forty weeks, she must live fiftytwo. Of the teachers entering the profession between 1870 and 1900, two-thirds began with less than $500. Only two received a salary of $900 or more. The largest number, — approximately one-third of the whole group, — received between $400 and $500.

That experience did not bring large additions to these salaries is evident from recent reports showing average earnings of Massachusetts teachers. In 1890 2 the average salary of the woman teacher was $526. This rose slowly to $586 in 1900. It was $744 in 1910 3 and $837 in 1915. The great increase in teachers'

lAppendix, Tables 21 and 22.

2The data for 1890 and 1900 were obtained from our schedules. As these were quite incomplete in regard to salaries, the figures for these two dates can be relied on only to show trends.

*The data for 1910, 1915, and 1920 were taken from the 1920 Report of the Special Commission on Teachers' Salaries.

salaries which was due to the war, the increased cost of living, and the loss of many valuable teachers to other more lucrative fields, occurred between 1915 and 1920. In the latter year the average salary was $1,326.93; a rise of 58.5 per cent over 1915, 78.4 per cent over 1910, and 152.3 per cent over 1890.

Small towns and rural communities have granted larger percentages of increase than the larger towns and cities. Two reports from teachers located in small towns will show the contrast between earlier and later salaries. "I have always had a small salary, — never $600. Last year we as teachers were given $1000." "Until within the last two years, I never received over $700 a year and am now getting $1400 a year." Though the percentage increase in salaries in the rural communities has been greater than in the cities, there is still a large discrepancy between the two. When the teachers are arranged in four groups 1 in accordance with the size of the place where they taught, the difference in the salaries of Groups I and IV was $490 in 1910 and $728 in 1920. In 1910, Group IV received 48 per cent of the income of Group I; in 1920, 51 per cent. Only 8 per cent of the teachers of Massachusetts on January 1, 1920, were receiving less than $800 a year.