Retired teachers' COLAs remain in effect
There was good news Wednesday for thousands of retired educators in Georgia who had expressed their concern over Gov. Perdue's proposal to eliminate the automatical cost of living adjustments (COLA) that amounted to a 3 percent annual increase in pension benefits.
The board of trustees of the Teacher Retirement System (TRS) voted to reject the governor's request to change a policy that has been effect for nearly 40 years and mandates a 1.5 percent COLA increase twice a year.
Approximately 20,000 retired teachers had expressed their concern about the possibility of losing the COLA increases before the board vote. Members of the House Democratic caucus and other legislative leaders had also voiced our opposition to the proposal, based on the fact the teachers had made contributions to the TRS based on an expectation of the COLA increases.
|
