Mary Riley

My name is Mary Riley a Chapter 94 retiree, here is my testimony.

I worked for the State of Rhode Island for 31 years until I retired from my job at RI College five years ago. Pension "reform," initiated by then-General Treasurer Gina Raimondo, changed how I live in retirement. Due to the 2011 legislation, I had to work an additional four years and could not receive the maximum pension benefit of 60% of my salary. Furthermore, the change in the benefit calculation from averaging the last three years of pay to the final five-year average reduced my pension earnings. The COLA suspension meant my monthly pension check could not keep up with inflation. This was and is a significant financial setback. In summary, I had a long career with the State, during which I planned and saved for my retirement years. The changes imposed by the 2011 legislation forced me and my family to alter how we approached retirement. All the financial planning to prepare for retirement was immediately rendered moot. I hope the Pension Working Advisory Group will recommend solutions to address the injustices rendered to retirees. Thank you for the opportunity to testify.

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