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HARRISBURG, PA (Oct. 22, 2024) – The Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed legislation today by a bipartisan vote of 135-67providing a long overdue pension cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to 63,000 educators, school support staff, and state employees who retired before 2001.
House Bill 1379, as amended, provides cost-of-living adjustments ranging from 15% to 24.5% to educators, school support staff, and other public employees who retired prior to the passage of Act 9 of 2001, which increased pension benefits for active members by 25%.
Pre-Act 9 retirees like Robert McVay, who spoke at a Capitol press conference with other advocates on Oct. 2, have significantly lower monthly pension benefits than those who retired after Act 9 was passed, and they have not gotten any type of increase in their pensions since 2002.
“Just imagine what it would be like to go to the grocery store today, fill up your cart, and pay for it with the income you earned 20-some years ago,” said McVay, a 32-year teacher from the Franklin Area School District who retired in 1998. “It is impossible.”
McVay and his wife made the painful decision to sell their family home in Franklin and move into a mobile home in Florida just to stay afloat, and still they struggle.
“Rising taxes, grocery costs, insurance, and utilities have all bitten into our stagnant income,” he said. “My dream of becoming a teacher turned into a nightmare of poverty in retirement because of the Legislature’s failure to act.”
PSEA President Aaron Chapin commended the state House for taking action on pre-Act 9 COLA legislation.
“A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House took decisive action today to recognize and respect a generation of public servants who spent their careers making our commonwealth a better place to live, work, and learn,” Chapin said. “These retirees should be able to enjoy their retirements with their families, not worrying about how they will afford to put food on the table or pay for medications.
“It is imperative that the Pennsylvania Senate take the same decisive action to send this bill to the governor’s desk. Pre-Act 9 retirees in their 80s and 90s have waited too long for their elected lawmakers to step up.”
From 1968 to 2002, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed legislation every four or five years, granting public-sector retirees COLAs that typically made up for at least half of the intervening rate of inflation.
It has been more than 20 years since pre-Act 9 retirees received any type of increase to their pensions. Their pensions are, on average, less than $20,000 a year. As a result of rising inflation, their real buying power has declined by 40% over the past two decades.
In addition to providing a COLA to pre-Act 9 retired public educators and state employees, House Bill 1379 also includes a long overdue COLA for municipal police officers and firefighters.
Chapin is a Stroudsburg Area middle school teacher and president of PSEA. An affiliate of the National Education Association, PSEA represents about 177,000 active and retired educators and school employees, aspiring educators, higher education staff, and health care workers in Pennsylvania.