Blog

The Texas House Pensions, Investments, and Financial Services Committee (PIFS) has scheduled an interim hearing on Monday, June 6, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. to review and evaluate the actuarial soundness of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) pension fund and to study possible benefit enhancements, including a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), for TRS retirees.

PIFS Committee Chairman Rafael Anchia is focusing on the financial needs of TRS retirees. He wants to find a way to meet those needs. The discussion about a COLA is just the beginning of what will be a deeper look into how much retirees are hurting due to increased inflationary pressure. More than half of current TRS retirees have never received a COLA. The last COLA that was passed by the Texas Legislature went to those who had retired in August 2004 or before.

Chairman Anchia attended the Texas Retired Teachers Association’s (TRTA) April Convention, where he spoke passionately about supporting retirees in the upcoming legislative session.

TRTA wants feedback from our members that we can present to the committee. If you have already posted on our Facebook page about the need for TRS retirees to receive a COLA, thank you! If not, please visit this Facebook post, where you can leave a comment. You can also email your comments to info@trta.org (subject line: PIFS).

TRTA will be providing testimony on behalf of its entire membership for the meeting. For those who may be interested in attending the hearing in person, the location is at the Texas Capitol building in Austin (1100 Congress Avenue) in Room E2.030. Please note that public testimony will be limited to three minutes should you wish to speak. For those persons who will be testifying, information for in-person witness registration can be found here.

TRTA will have representatives from our legislative team speaking on behalf of our members during the hearing as well. A link to a live webcast of the meeting will be available from this website on the day of the hearing for those watching from home.

TRTA thanks Chairman Anchia and all the members of the PIFS committee for making TRS retirees a high priority ahead of the 88^th Legislative Session that begins in January 2023. Our work to help TRS retirees receive a COLA already is kicking into high gear! Help us lay the groundwork for getting retirees much-needed financial relief by providing your comments today!

Thank You!

TRTA is the only group that focuses solely on your TRS retirement security! Please join us today!

Thank you for being a member of TRTA and supporting issues that affect retired Texas public school personnel. Be sure to download the TRTA app to receive all of the latest updates and communicate with your fellow retirees.

As members of the Texas Retired Teachers Association (TRTA) may know, election day for the Primary Runoff is coming up on May 24, and early voting is happening now through Friday!

TRTA members, we encourage you to vote in this very important election. Voter turnout is often very low in primary elections and even lower in runoff elections. Only 18% of registered voters in Texas voted in the March 2022 primary. Please make sure you have a plan to vote in the runoff!

What is the primary runoff election? 
This election is for races that did not have a majority winner during the March 1 primary election. The winners from each party will advance to the November 8 general election.

Who can vote? 
First, make sure you’re registered to vote. Please note, if you did not vote during the primary in March, you can still vote in the runoff in either party! However, if you voted in the March primary, you must vote in the same party primary during the runoff.

Helpful Voting Resources!
Click on the links below to learn more!

• What’s On Your Ballot?
• Find Your Polling Place
• What ID Can You Use to Vote?

Encourage others to vote 
Call, text, or talk to your friends, family, and colleagues and encourage them to vote! Numbers really matter in a Primary Election—even more so in a runoff—and can make all the difference when choosing candidates who support issues that have an impact on Texas public education retirees and pre-retirees.

The road to influencing future policy outcomes starts NOW, well ahead of the 2023 Legislative Session!

Be sure to grab some family members, friends, and neighbors to go with you as you head to the polls to cast your very important vote!

Share that you voted on social media
We love these great images provided by Texans for Strong Public Schools that you can share on social media after you have voted. You can also take a selfie and post it on Facebook!

Thank You!

TRTA is the only group that focuses solely on your TRS retirement security! Please join us today!

Thank you for being a member of TRTA and supporting issues that affect retired Texas public school personnel. Be sure to download the TRTA app to receive all of the latest updates and communicate with your fellow retirees.

The Texas Senate Finance Committee conducted a hearing on Wednesday, May 4, 2022 about the effects of inflation on the Texas economy, including the impact on retired Texas educators and state employees. The committee also reviewed reforms made to both the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) and the Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) during the 87^th Legislative Session.

Newly appointed Chairman Joan Huffman (R-Houston) presided over her first meeting of the committee. Texas Retired Teachers Association (TRTA) Executive Director Tim Lee, along with TRTA State Legislative Committee members Dr. Mary Widmier (District 4) and Eric McKnight (District 17), provided testimony at the hearing. TRTA members were by far the largest single contingent in the audience and their presence was noted multiple times by committee members.

Tim Lee spoke to the committee about TRTA members’ appreciation for their work on SB 12 and the supplemental payment retirees received in January. He thanked them for making a COLA a part of the legislative discussion for 2023.

Lee noted that inflation is taking a huge toll on retirees who have not received an actual COLA since 2004. In that time, inflation has increased by 52%, making a dollar today worth 65 cents compared to a 2004 dollar. This is a harsh reality for over half of current TRS retirees, who retired after 2004. He pledged that TRTA will work diligently with the Legislature to provide retirees a meaningful COLA in 2023.

Dr. Mary Widmier told the committee that both she and her husband retired 15 years ago and rely almost completely on their TRS annuities. Despite 21 years paying into Social Security, she receives only $120 per month due to the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) reduction. Since 2007, when they retired, inflation has decreased their purchasing power by 39%.

Widmier told the committee, “We are here today to ask for a meaningful COLA, but also for a comprehensive approach. Since we truly depend on our TRS pension fund, we need an approach to ensure the fund remains actuarially sound, pursues wise investments, and allows the fund to grow.”

Eric McKnight focused on how TRS pension payments help businesses in his community and the negative effects of inflation on local members (see our Facebook page for more personal stories from TRTA members). McKnight told the committee that in 2020, Lubbock County received more than $181 million from TRS pensions and the majority of that money remained in the local economy. He told the story of married couple who are TRTA members whose unexpected medical issues caused them to seek help from the community, their children, and the Texas Retired Teachers Foundation (TRTF) to make ends meet over the past year.

McKnight closed his testimony by saying, “Inflation is real and it hits home . . . along with supporting our local economy, a meaningful COLA would provide dignity in retirement and help all Texas retired teachers.”

TRS Executive Director Brian Guthrie gave the committee an overview of the financial condition of the pension system. Guthrie also discussed the proposal from the TRS consulting actuary to the TRS Board to reduce the investment return actuarial assumption from the current 7.25% down to 7% (click here to read TRTA’s report about this pending change).

Director Guthrie reminded the committee that a similar change to the rate of return (from 8 to 7.25% in 2018) caused the fund to fall outside the state definition of actuarial soundness. The state’s requirement is that the system be within a 31-year funding period to be considered actuarially sound, and the change increased the TRS funding period to 87 years.

That change triggered the creation of Senate Bill 12 in 2019, which was authored by Chairman Huffman. SB 12 increased contribution rates from the state, active TRS members, and school districts over a six-year period to bring the fund back to actuarial soundness. This allowed the Legislature to provide supplemental payments to TRS retirees in 2019 and 2021.

Guthrie contrasted the effects of the 2018 change with the proposal before the TRS Board now, which will increase the funding period by 3 years, from 23 to 26, meaning the system will maintain actuarial soundness. This is in large part because of SB 12, as well as a 25% return on investments in 2022.

Chairman Huffman asked Guthrie directly if this proposed change would have any detrimental effects on the possibility of providing a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to TRS retirees during the 88^th Legislative Session in 2023. He answered that it would not, because the fund is stable and the TRS Board has more options available to reduce the effects of the change.

TRTA will continue to work directly with TRTA members and the Legislature to make sure retirees’ voices are heard as we head toward our next opportunity to win a COLA!

Thank You!

Stay tuned to the Inside Line for more information about issues that impact Texas public education retirees.

TRTA is the only group that focuses solely on your TRS retirement security! Please join us today!

Thank you for being a member of TRTA and supporting issues that affect retired Texas public school personnel. Be sure to download the TRTA app to receive all of the latest updates and communicate with your fellow retirees.