> $55,000 is a modest pension?

Yes, it is, especially compare to public safety pensions it is compared to.

> That is a lot more than social security is paying.

Social security is a minimal safety-net pension designed to mitigate crushing old age poverty (and it's barely adequate even to that task) in the event of absence or failure of workplace-specific retirement plans, not a primary retirement vehicle.

> Maybe we should move teachers to SSA?

You want the Social Security Administration to take over delivery of classroom education from state and local agencies?