I have been a teacher in RI since 1995 when I became a teacher and thought I signed up for a 28-33 year commitment with a pension between 60-80% depending on the number of years I worked. BUT, the pension reform of 2011 changed all of that!!! Now I have to work until I am at least 62 years of age for at least 37 years for about HALF of the pension I had planned on!

This is unacceptable and what Gina Raimondo did is criminal!!! Police and Fire regained most of what they had lost which is well deserved. WHEN are the teachers going to get back what we lost and well deserve too?!!!!

I retired with the promise of receiving cost of living increases. Shortly after I retired, they were taken away. I’m finding that as years go by it is getting more difficult to keep up! Without getting a cola, I am worried if I will be able to afford paying all my bills which have skyrocketed in the past few years. Please try to help reinstate colas. It would help so much.

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June 30th 2012, longevity was stopped. At least for those working that long. I reached 25 years the end of August, 2012 and I feel those folks should have been grandfathered in. It certainly made a difference in my pension.

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I started working with the city of East providence in 1997 with the plan of retiring in 30 years . I would ask the board to respectively implement that again for people that were already invested in pension system when changes were made . Thank you .

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Like many I planned my retirement on the expected money I would receive through my legal and binding contract. Retiring in 2008 after 33 years of teaching, I did not receive the compounded cola as promised. This made it impossible to stop working. I needed to work and did so with as many as three jobs at one point from 2008 through 2023. An unexpected and life changing health issue disabled my husband who is unable to work burdening our financial stability further with a nearly two year process to receive disability support.

I feel our Colas should be returned to us. We entered into a contract with the State of RI when we retired and it included our COLA’s. It is shameful that this was done to so many dedicated employees that thought what the State had agreed was theirs, then taken away. No way is that legal.

Thank you for the opportunity to explain how the PENSION debacle of 2011 affected US! Two Cranston teachers who taught 32 and 33 years and were told when we retired what our pension and our COLA was going to be! That info is HOW we decided what option to choose that would be the best for us as we reached our retirement years! BUT…along came GINA and to make HER A HEADLINE in her political career she made FOOLS out of public state employees and teachers! Sadly we actually believed her and voted along with her! What fools she made out of us!

I feel I was wronged I will have 30 years of service with the city of East providence when I will be 52 years old and I will have to work another 11 years after that to avoid major penalties. With Costs. The pension reform happened when I had 13 years in and was already vested for 3 years. Among other things.

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I started working for the City of East Providence in the (Water Department) on April 2nd 1990. I've been there almost 34 years. When I started I was told by City Hall that I could work 30 years and receive 60% of my pension and paid Blue Cross until I reached 65 years old or I could work longer and receive 2% for every year worked after 30 years up to the max of 37 1/2 years and receive 75% and paid Blue Cross until 65 years old. Everyone who was hired before July 31st 2012 should have been grandfathered under the original rules.

I was hired in 2000, was promised a certian pension after 10 yrs. That's when you get vested. You should have changed it for new hirires. I had a 20 year plan when I got hired, I'm on 4yrs overtime have to do another 5yrs to get the same money I would have got after 20 yrs. Please put the 2 percent a year back that I was promised, after I was vested. Thank you for listening. Rob Mosher

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