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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Barb McIlvaine Smith |
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McIlvaine Smith: School retirees deserve to keep up with inflation
Offers bill to provide public-school retirees cost-of-living increases
HARRISBURG, Jan. 8 – Citing the ever-rising costs of fuel, food and utilities, state Rep. Barb McIlvaine Smith, D-Chester, has introduced legislation that would help public school retirees keep pace with inflation. Under H.B. 2148, the retirees would receive cost-of-living adjustments, referred to as COLAs, each July 1 in accordance with the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners.
McIlvaine Smith noted that a COLA is not a raise, but only an adjustment that enables retirees to keep pace with inflation.
“We are talking about people who spent their lives in service to our children. After so much dedication to education, they deserve to retire with dignity,” McIlvaine Smith said.
McIlvaine Smith said retirees in the private sector who have retirement plans such as a 401(k) can increase their own COLAs by increasing the amount of their withdrawals each year. But retired teachers and other former school employees do not have that flexibility, she said.
“The last COLA was enacted in 2002 and since that time the cumulative rate of inflation has risen 18 percent,” McIlvaine Smith said. “As the price of life’s necessities increases, these retirees have seen their spending power decrease.”
The bill has received wide bipartisan support in the House and has been referred to the House Finance Committee. McIlvaine Smith’s goal is to see the legislation passed by the House and Senate and signed by the governor quickly, so public school retirees could see their first COLA this summer.
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CONTACT: Lauren Rooney |