Letter to the editor: State retirees need a COLA

Our Pennsylvania state House passed a bill in June 2023 to grant the pre-Act 9 (2001) retirees a cost of living adjustment (COLA). These retirees, most of them in their 80s and older, have not received a COLA for nearly two decades. They have been existing on the same income since 2001.

Sen. Joe Pittman, Pennsylvania Senate majority leader, refuses to bring this action to the Senate floor. They claim the pension fund is not fully funded. They forget to say that, in the early 2000s, when the pension fund was over 120% funded, they decided that the state and the school districts no longer needed to contribute . Then there was a financial crash, dropping the fund to 60%.

It has been nearly 20 years, and that fund has never been restored. Instead of taking steps to rebuild this fund, they are using it as an excuse to not give these pre-Act 9 retirees a deeply needed COLA. There is a multibillion-dollar rainy day surplus in our treasury.

Thank you to the bipartisan House members who realize the financial stress for the pre-Act 9 retirees.

Shame on the Senate for putting politics ahead of what is justified. Are you playing a waiting game, hoping attrition will solve this problem? Our numbers are getting smaller every day. This is not a situation that is going to increase in cost every year. It is exactly the opposite!

Michael Raich

St. Clair Township