Government retirees deserve cola

by Richard Rogers, NC Retired Governmental Employees Association, published in Burlington Times-News, January 7, 2018.

Our government retirees are at the heart of communities across North Carolina, keeping us safe, saving lives, maintaining our utilities, and doing the many duties that many of us often take for granted.

While the North Carolina General Assembly should be credited with its decision to give our teachers and state government retirees a long overdue 1 percent cost-of-living adjustment, we find it discouraging that local government retirees once again did not receive a COLA.

The Local Government Employees Retirement System is a defined benefit retirement system for our government employees, a separate entity from the Teachers and State Employees Retirement System. Local governments have strongly supported the fiscal health of the LGERS with consistent contributions which keep it well-funded.

Since 2008 inflation has increased by more than 14 percent, while local government retirees have received less than a 1 percent cost-of-living increase. For a 2008 retiree with an LGERS pension of $17,500, the value of their pension is worth only $15,425 today, a loss of $2,045.

That $2,075 may not seem like a lot to some people, but to our retirees, it’s can take basic choices, such as housing, healthcare, family, and turn them into struggles. A 1 percent cost-of-living adjustment equals about $17 a month for the average retiree. That $17 goes a long way for retirees living on a fixed income. A 1 percent adjustment would only increase local government payrolls by 0.3 percent.

It’s an investment in our current and future government retirees – an investment desperately needed by local retirees. A cost-of-living adjustment isn’t a “raise” or a “bonus” for retirees. It’s keeping a promise to our retirees who contributed to our communities across North Carolina, a promise of retirement security from a system they contributed toward throughout their careers.

A broken promise to our current retirees is a disincentive for local government workforce recruiting, and a disservice to our retirees. How can we expect to recruit a dedicated workforce for our cities and counties when we can’t guarantee their contributions will be honored?

Richard Rogers

Executive director, North Carolina Retired Governmental Employees Association

http://www.thetimesnews.com/opinion/20180107/editorial-government-retirees-deserve-cola