Most teachers are in the pension system, their contribution is taken out of their paycheck automatically.
From someone on the fringes of this discussion, I'll offer this perspective - I'll retire in about 2 and a half years from the FD and my "retirement job" will be as an ED or flight nurse working 2 days per week. I made plenty of money as a firefighter, will make an absurd amount of money for 2 days per week once you factor in my pension, and have lived and will continue to live comfortably for the rest of my life.
That said, there are still times I wish I could go back to that day in 2000 when I abandoned my plan for medical school and went to the FD instead.
Sometimes, it's about more than what makes financial sense.