Letter to the editor: School retirees deserve COLA increase
As a music teacher, assistant principal and principal in the Pittsburgh area for 32 years, I dedicated my time to helping students untap their skills, expand their knowledge and continue to grow with curiosity.
When I retired in 2012, I soon realized that the contributions I, along with my fellow retired educators, provided to students over the course of several decades were underappreciated and unrecognized.
Pennsylvania’s retired educators like myself have not received a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in over 20 years. Given this circumstance, along with the fact that the price of everyday essentials has risen due to inflation, I believe now is the time for Pennsylvania’s retired educators to receive our long overdue COLA.
State Reps. Dan Deasy and Steve Malagari recently introduced two bills seeking to change this. Under House Bills 1415 and 1416, COLAs would be established for retirees under the State Employee Retirement System (SERS) and the Public School Employee Retirement System (PSERS). I applaud Deasy and Malagari for supporting Pennsylvania’s retired educators.
On behalf of Pennsylvania’s school teacher retirees, I implore members of the state Legislature to support these bills so we can have a comfortable retirement we worked hard to obtain.
Glory A. Getty
Brookline
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