Retirees In Action

Recently, while reading the Retired Public Employees Association (RPEA) newsletter, I was struck by a tribute to a former RPEA president, Cynthia Wilson, who had died recently.

The article praised Wilson for her leadership in winning a permanent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to the pensions of state retirees. It noted that she “had to keep reminding the employer representative and budget people that it was pensioners’ money they were talking about and that they were there for that purpose and that purpose alone.”

In my lifetime, those who entered public service in New York state relied on the constitutional guarantee of a defined pension benefit consistent with Article V, Section 7 of the NY State Constitution that reads: “After July 1, 1940, membership in any pension or retirement system of the state, or of a civil division thereof, shall be a contractual relationship, the benefit of which shall not be diminished or impaired.”

But our pension benefit is being diminished by inflation that erodes the buying power of our pension incomes.
Economists have predicted inflation will have a greater effect on seniors than others because of our purchasing needs. Our homes, the major source of our equity, are losing value. The dollar is falling, our savings and investments yield practically no interest or dividends and our income is static.

The deductibles and maximum annual out-of-pocket expenses for our medical insurance have been fully indexed to inflation for several years using the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, all cities (CPI-W).

Where is the fairness when our costs, but not our incomes (pensions), are fully indexed to keep up with inflation?

The PEF Retirees continues to remind state legislators and our membership of the constitutional protections and court ruling on this obligation to protect our defined pension benefit.

Congress has passed a bill that will provide all taxpayers with a rebate this year as a form of economic stimulus for a sagging U.S. economy. Using the same economic logic, let’s put more money in the pockets of state retirees. A fair COLA would provide a similar and more immediate statewide boost to New York’s economy.

The New York State Common Retirement Fund is fully funded and grew 12.58 percent last year. The need for a just COLA and the resources to pay for it are there.

Teddy Roosevelt said, “It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.”

The PEF Retirees understands various special interest groups oppose an equitable COLA. That’s why it is imperative for us to form ranks and send our message loud enough to be heard throughout the New York State Legislature.

We owe a debt of gratitude to Cynthia Wilson for her courageous leadership on behalf of retired public employees. She was characterized as a courageous leader.

Let’s follow her example and call or visit our legislators and remind them that we fully expect them to live up to the New York State Constitution’s promise by supporting a fair cost-of-living adjustment to our pensions.