Westmoreland County retirees awarded small raises in 2021

Westmoreland County government retirees will receive small cost-of-living raises in 2021.

The county’s retirement board, which includes the three county commissioners along with Treasurer Jared Squires and Controller Jeffrey Balzer, on Tuesday unanimously approved a 0.4% benefit increase for about 1,300 retired government workers.

Annual cost-of-living raises are determined using a calculation based on the Consumer Price Index. County leaders are not permitted to exceed the amount of the benefit increase that is determined by the economic statistics.

“With what the county has gone through this year, this is such a small amount. I’ve always seen a cost-of-living increase as a recognition that everything is more expensive and a recognition that we appreciate everything they did for us,” Squires said.

The retirement board last year handed out a 1.94% cost of living raise to retirees for 2020.

The raises come as the county’s pension fund continues to rebound from a difficult spring that saw the account lose about $60 million during the first half of the year as the stock market declined amid the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.

Fund consultant Brad Hampton said the pension account started 2020 with a $464 million value, but dipped to about $404 million in June. The fund recouped those loses and, at of the end of September, was valued at $476.5 million, he said.

“With the recent market increases, it’s projected the fund value amount will be around $480 million at the end of December,” Hampton said.