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Retired State Workers are Hurting — a 13th Check Will Help

Retired State Workers are Hurting -- a 13th Check Will Help

State of Texas employees worked hard for decades to make Texas stronger, safer, and healthier.

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We protected public safety, served vulnerable children and the elderly, and built the infrastructure that allowed our state to grow and prosper. We took lower salaries than in the private sector because we love Texas and thought we’d have financial stability once we retired.

But we don’t. Record inflation has made it tough to pay for food, gas, and housing.

More than 120,000 of us rely on our Employees Retirement System (ERS) pension checks to make ends meet in these challenging times. We haven’t had a cost of living adjustment (COLA) since 2001 — Rick Perry’s first session as governor —  or a 13th yearly check since the 1990s – when George W. Bush was governor.

This year, Lawmakers are giving both a COLA and a 13th check to retired teachers, who also received a 13th check in the past two sessions. That’s only right: retired teachers worked hard and made a difference while earning low salaries.

So did retired state workers. Today, we live in every county and every legislative district. But those of us who have been retired for 20 years earn just $18,000 a year from ERS.

A 13th check would give immediate relief to all retired state employees. It would cost $250 million — a small fraction of the state’s $33 billion surplus.

Retirees can’t wait another two years for relief. We are hurting now and need help now.

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Read what retired state workers have been writing in the Houston Chronicle and Austin American-Statesman, as well as coverage of this issue in Axios and the Texas Tribune.

PAID ADVERTISING SPONSORED BY THE TEXAS PUBLIC EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION, AFSCME TEXAS RETIREES, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS ASSOCIATION, AND TEXAS GAME WARDEN PEACE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION.