New COLA hikes likely to fizzle More and more members of PEF Retirees are taking advantage of the automatic-pension-deduction method to pay their annual dues. However, some members are rightly concerned about wording on the enrollment card which reads: “I hereby authorize deductions to be made from my monthly allowance from the NYS and Local Retirement Systems in the amount necessary to cover membership and/or insurance premiums payable on my behalf to the NYS Retirees Public Employees Federation.” A member may want their dues deducted, but not the insurance. Be assured, at this time, we have no capability to deduct insurance premiums from pension checks. We can only deduct $1 each month in dues. If, someday, we can offer this option, we will give you ample advance notice so you could elect whether to have insurances deducted in addition to your dues. On another subject, it appears the state is facing large revenue shortfalls. This does not bode well for any new state pension hikes. Dave Greer, our PEF Retiree representative on the PEF Statewide Political Action Committee, reports the union’s 2002 legislative agenda urges these improvements to state pension benefits: • Increase future cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) from 50 percent to 100 percent of inflation as measured by the national Consumer Price Index (CPI); • Increase the cap on benefits from $18,000 to $25,000 when figuring CPI increases; and • Raise the current surviving-spouse COLA benefits from 50 percent to 100 percent. However, Dave feels the projected budget deficits make any progress on these issues unlikely. Nevertheless, we must continue to lobby the Legislature for these improvements. Be sure to attend these noon chapter meetings at the regional PEF offices: Syracuse on April 14, Long Island on April 24 and Albany on May 6.