Executive Summary:
- Use our Action Alert to contact your legislators.
- Our goal is to #RAISETHEBASE funding for the TRS pension fund and TRS-Care.
- Better funding is the path to a benefit increase and lower health care costs.
The Texas Retired Teachers Association (TRTA) has been working closely with legislators in both the Texas Senate and House to make progress on its robust legislative agenda.
Above all, TRTA wants legislators to know that it’s time to raise the base funding for both the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) pension fund and the TRS-Care retiree health insurance program.
TRTA members, we need your help to spread this message to every office in the Texas Legislature!
CLICK HERE TO SEND AN ACTION ALERT
Already, the Texas Senate has filed numerous bills that would impact TRS retirees in a positive way.
TRTA wrote about Senator Joan Huffman’s (R – Houston) bill, SB 393, in this Inside Line article. During the Senate Finance Committee meeting held on February 11, Sen. Huffman reviewed the TRS pension fund in detail, and discussed how it would take a $1.6 billion increase in state funding each biennium to make up for the lowered rate of return assumption approved by TRS last year. SB 393 would increase contributions into the fund, generating the funding necessary to make up for the change by increasing funding from three sources: the state, school districts and active educators.
Many other bills that would impact TRS retirees in a positive manner have been filed and TRTA is working on bill analysis of them all now.
How TRTA Members Can Help!
TRTA is encouraging its members to communicate with their fellow retirees that good things can happen and a positive outcome is possible! Legislators are working for you! TRTA members have been actively communicating with elected officials. Now, the legislators are in session, and many of them are thinking about the retirees and want to help. Let’s get behind these efforts in a positive way! Let’s work with a belief that good things are possible and will happen for TRS retirees.
TRTA is encouraging its members to contact legislators on social media with the hashtag #RAISETHEBASE! You can find your legislators on Facebook and Twitter by doing a search for their first and last name. Not sure who your state legislators are? Click here to do a search by address. You can also search for the legislators via the Texas Tribune’s directory, which contains links to their social media pages. Let them know how excited you are about the opportunity to increase the state funding for the TRS pension fund and be sure to use the #RAISETHEBASE hashtag!
Be sure to click here and send an email to your elected officials encouraging them this session and asking them to support the TRTA agenda to #RAISETHEBASE for TRS programs and find a way to help improve TRS retiree benefits!
