All retirees deserve to live with dignity and financial security. Unfortunately, many former public-school employees and state employees in our state are struggling. Our state’s two public pension systems—the State Employee Retirement System (SERS) and the Public School Employee Retirement System (PSERS)—have been providing payments to retirees for decades, but neither system has seen a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in over 20 years. 

These stagnant payments are insufficient for our retirees, especially given the rising costs of goods and services. In our state, retired public school employees and state employees earned their pensions through years of dedicated service. It is past time that our state’s public pension systems provide them the retirement security they deserve.

That is why I am introducing a package of bills providing a COLA to both SERS and PSERS. These bills will provide a COLA for the upcoming fiscal year while also establishing a recurring COLA so that pensions keep up with the rate of inflation. 

Please join me in supporting this important legislation. Help to ensure former state and public-school employees can live comfortably in their retirement. Thank you for your consideration.