Record of Testimony

I have just one request of this group - do a better job than was done by Ms. Raimondo at balancing utility with justice. We should not be left to live in fear and desperation. Thank you.

To the Esteemed Pension Advisory Working Group:

Being a retired state worker for 25 years now, I am extremely disappointed in the decision to include retirees in vacating the 3% cola back in 2011. This was an erroneous decision by Gov. Raimondo. She disregarded not only state law as well as the contract I have with the state.

I retired in June after 37 yrs in public education. When I started teaching, I worked in Massachusetts. In 1987 I accepted a job in RI. We were told we had free insurance and a great retirement. Much better than Mass. If I worked 28-35 years, I could retire and get a pension of up to 80%.

I am a retired Guidance Counselor from the Narragansett School System. For the last 24 years, I have lived in Sarasota, FL. I was living the relaxed life of a typical retiree.

I am recently retired. I really feel for those who retired 15 - 20 years ago and have had minimal COLA increases. Constantly losing purchasing power. Having been hired in 2000, the group I'm in really got screwed in the maximum percent of last years wages that would be paid when we retired.

I retired in June, 2016, at age 66, after working for the state for 31 years. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics figures indicate that for each $1.00 in pension payments I received at that time, I would need $1.27 today, just to break even with the increased costs of living.

THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO CORRECT AN INJUSTMENT THAT HAS HURT THE LIVES OF PEOPLE WHO WORKED HONORABLE FOR AT LEAST 28 YEARS. I HAVE BEEN RETIRED FOR 15 YEARS. I AM LIVING ON AND MAKING PURCHASES WITH MONEY THAT IS 15 YEARS OLD.

Testimony before the Pension Advisory Working Group, 14 Dec 2023 CCRI Hackett Auditorium:

I had previously belonged to AFSCME/Retirees, and fled that group in search of real representation. The retiree agenda was clearly dominated by union oversight.