Co-Sponsorship Memo Details

In the near future, I will be introducing legislation to add an additional annual payment to pre-Act 9 retirees as a way to provide them with relief from high inflation.

We have heard so much of late concerning the impact the lack of a COLA has had on pre-Act 9 annuitants of our two public pension systems.

The challenge is that while a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for these individuals may be long overdue, both SERS and PSERS face substantial funding challenges. PSERS pension fund has an unfunded liability – or debt – of $44 billion as of April 13, 2023, and SERS has an unfunded liability of approximately $16 billion as of their most recent report. Current proposals for a permanent COLA create substantial long-term burdens for these pension systems.

In an effort to assist these retirees who have not seen a COLA increase in over 20 years and did not receive the 25% increase per year in pension income as did all who retired after 2002, I am introducing legislation that will provide them with an additional annuity payment for a set period of time. The amount of the supplemental annuity payment would be equal to the amount of the regular monthly annuity payment received by the eligible benefit recipient for June immediately prior to the July in which the supplemental annuity payment is made. This 13th additional payment would occur only in the next three years.

This addition would provide annuitants with the one annual additional payment they need upfront, and not add to future payments, providing for a much more reasonable cost to the PSERS and SERS systems.

Please join me in co-sponsoring this legislation.