Record of Testimony

I am a retired state employee with over 35 years of faithful service. I had well over 20 years when the major changes were made to the retirement system. I was in the most affected group having not enough years to retire and too few years to make up what had been promised to us.

I started teaching in Rhode Island in 1997 and entered into a contractual relationship with the state of Rhode Island. This contract stated that I would receive approximately 60% of my salary in retirement from the state pension fund.

I worked at the pharmacy at MHRH until I retired in 2008. I took the SRA option, knowing I would receive my pension plus the compounded interest until age 62. Back when I retired, taking the SRA made sense to me. I knew that once I reached age 62, the annual COLA would cover any SRA offset.

My name is Dolores Bresette, and I worked for the state of Rhode Island for 37 years, which is more than half my life. I retired from RI College, where I was an Information Aide.

I taught third grade in the Woonsocket school system for 35 years. I had a contract. It said that I would receive a 3% compounded cola when I retired.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify. Much like the young lady from Coventry who testified on video with Frank Flynn, I too am significantly impacted by the pension changes of 2005, 2009 and 2011.

I understand the reasoning behind the COLA freeze in 2011. Since i retired in 2011 I have been greatly impacted by this decision. I feel like it’s time for teachers to start receiving what was originally promised to them or @ least part of that money.

First Congress passes the windfall elimination provision and so my teacher’s pension is so good I fall under this program. Middletown never paid into Soc. Sec. So even though I qualify I get $0. Blue cross/Blue Shield was quasi-government & I got a special rate for health insurance.

I have been struggling to support my wife and son since my 3% annual COLA was taken away from me and my family. My wife has been battling severe arthritis in her feet, knees, hips, back, and hands since 2011 and has been wheel chair dependent since 2012.

This is my story about COLAs, suspended for over 12 years, and how it affected me.