Families across the country are struggling as the cost of everyday goods is climbing. But one group in particular is especially vulnerable to skyrocketing costs: retirees.
Many retired public service workers depend on pensions earned during their careers to stay afloat. But some retirees’ pensions don’t include cost-of-living increases (COLAs), which help keep pace with rising prices.
Without a COLA, many retirees’ ability to make ends meet is jeopardized.
That is why AFSCME Retirees are doing what they do best: mobilizing and speaking out for COLA increases so that the retirements they earned during their working years will continue to sustain them.
Maryland
Shandala Richburg, the president of AFSCME Retiree Chapter 1 in Maryland, recently spoke in front of a state senate committee in support of a measure that would provide retirees a cost-of-living adjustment in their pensions.
“The men and women I represent spent decades serving the people of Maryland,” Richburg said. “They helped make sure our communities were safe, that vulnerable people were cared for, and that our transportation network was functioning.”
“In retirement, we need a cost-of-living adjustment that keeps pace with the real cost of living,” she added.
Pennsylvania
Some retired state workers in Pennsylvania have not seen a cost-of-living adjustment in more than two decades. One group of Pennsylvania retirees in particular, having retired before 2001, when a measure was passed that improved pensions for retired workers, are living on pensions that bring in less than $20,000 a year.
AFSCME Chapter 13 Retirees have been determined to fix this and are speaking out in person and online to tell the state legislature to increase their COLAs.
Texas
AFSCME Texas Retirees Board Member Rick Farias represented AFSCME Texas Retirees Chapter 12 this past spring when he spoke at the Texas Capitol in favor of a measure that would bring relief for retirees through a one-time, so-called 13th check.
“Retirees haven’t received any boost since 2001 — Rick Perry’s first term as governor — while the cost of living has increased more than 75% in that time,” Farias said. “The record inflation of the last few years has made it increasingly difficult for retirees like our AFSCME members to afford basics like medicine, groceries, gas and housing.”
Farias added: “It would cost a small fraction of the available funds in the state surplus, but it would make a meaningful difference for retirees like me who dedicated our careers to serving Texas and Texans.”
Washington and West Virginia
Letters to the editor, lobby days, press conferences, mailing and more — members of Retired Public Employees Council of Washington, AFSCME Chapter 10, and AFSCME Retirees West Virginia Subchapter 77 have been fighting tenaciously to pass COLA bills in their respective states.
Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota
In some of the country’s coldest states, retirees are most fired up.
Minnesota & Dakotas Retirees United, AFSCME Chapter 565, have worked with coalition partners to increase their pension COLAs. Even in the bitter cold, they show up in front of lawmakers to spotlight why, facing inflation and rising health care costs, COLAs are a must for retirees who have spent their careers serving their state.
They have notched victories, too — Minnesota retirees won a small COLA — but they will not slow down until all their retirements are secured.
Click here to learn more about how AFSCME Retirees are fighting for retirement security.