On Monday, February 27, the Texas House Appropriations Article III Subcommittee will meet to address budget recommendations, amongst them one related to the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS).
The Subcommittee will be working with an unprecedented budget surplus, ranging anywhere from $33-50+ billion dollars, and it is this remarkable advantage which is encouraging me and thousands of fellow TRS retirees to petition for equally unprecedented action on our behalf.
We are asking our Texas Legislators, at this point, beginning with the Appropriations Subcommittee, to acknowledge that retired educators are in desperate need of a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).
To illustrate, I retired in 2005, and in the 17+ years since then have never received a COLA, never. What I have been able to learn is that the last COLA granted by the Texas Legislature was in 2004. Since then no TRS retiree has seen a cost of living adjustment made to their retirement annuity, this in spite of rising inflation that is common place and stressful, especially for those of us who live on fixed incomes.
It is ironic given the fact that during our many years of service, if and when our own yearly salaries rose, we continued to contribute more to the TRS system. Yet the same does not hold true, now, that we are TRS annuitants and faced with yearly cost of living increases.
I urge our state legislators to do the right thing, to address the much needed COLA for TRS retirees, and I urge our educators, especially those who are retired to speak out as well. Call your state legislators; urge them to address this dire need and grant a much deserved COLA for TRS retirees, so many of us having served in our public schools for decades and who now merit this long overdue COLA!
Sylvia Bruni Webb County Democratic Party Chair
I retired in 2005, and in the 17+ years since then have never received a COLA, never.