Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min<\/p>\n
HARRISBURG \u2014 For the first time in two decades, more money will soon be flowing into the pockets of Pennsylvania\u2019s retired public school teachers, firefighters, police officers and other state employees. <\/p>\n
Negotiated as part of this year\u2019s state budget<\/a>, more than 80,000 retired public sector employees will receive monthly increases to their pension plans as part of a cost-of-living adjustment that advocates have sought for years.<\/p>\n Passing a pension bump has long been an objective of state lawmakers in both parties. And after legislators and Gov. Josh Shapiro<\/a> approved the spending plan on Sunday<\/a>, both Democratic and Republican leaders claimed<\/a> credit<\/a> for the pension boost, saying it was a product of their advocacy during negotiations. <\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Pa. lawmakers and Gov. Josh Shapiro have approved a $50.8 billion state budget, delaying action on key issues<\/a><\/p>\n Public school teachers and other state employees who retired before July 2, 2001, will receive a tiered monthly payment based on their date of retirement. Similarly, police officers and firefighters who retired more than five years ago will receive additional monthly payments ranging from $50 to $300 dollars depending on how long they have been retired. <\/p>\n In 2001, the state legislature passed Act 9, which gave a pension boost to public sector workers who retired after 2002, but it was not retroactive and does not increase with inflation.<\/p>\n \u201cNobody gets into public education to become rich, they do it because they have a great love for the educating of our public school students,\u201d said Aaron Chapin, president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association. \u201cWe know that when we get into education that we\u2019re not going to retire very wealthy and be millionaires. We understand that. But we also need to make sure that these pensions are keeping up with the cost of living.\u201d<\/p>\n Retired teachers and other former public workers will begin seeing the cost-of-living increase to their pensions this month, while retired police officers and firefighters will see the bump starting next month.<\/p>\n The state\u2019s largest teachers union has advocated<\/a> for the adjustment for many years. Those efforts included a union-coordinated campaign for teachers who retired before 2001 and did not receive a pension bump to share their stories with lawmakers, through meetings, letters, and media appearances.<\/p>\n Chapin said the former teachers told their representatives \u201cthe stories of how challenging this has been for them and their colleagues, whether it was paying the mortgage or the rent, paying the electricity bills, maybe not taking medication that month.\u201d<\/p>\n At a news conference on Sunday evening before signing the $50.8 billion state budget, Shapiro called the pension increase \u201creal money back in people\u2019s pockets.\u201d<\/p>\n Democratic lawmakers in the state House, he said, \u201cmade crystal clear that they wanted to stand up and put more money back in the pockets of workers who had given our commonwealth so much.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s definitely something our retirees have said to us for years,\u201d said Kevin Ressler, the secretary of the Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association. \u201cWhen you think about what things cost just 10 years ago until now, everything has gone up.\u201d<\/p>\n State legislators last approved<\/a> a cost-of-living adjustment for police and firefighters in 2002. Since then, inflation has resulted in a 86% price increase<\/a>, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. <\/p>\n State Sen. Frank Farry (R., Bucks), a volunteer fire chief in Lower Bucks County<\/a>, said members of both parties felt that it was time to pass the pension increase.<\/p>\n First responders \u201cdedicated decades of work to the community, just like our educators who dedicated decades of work to helping our young people grow and learn,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n While municipalities pay a portion of the pensions for first responders and public school teachers, the state will pay for all costs associated with the pension increase, Farry said. The increase, estimated to cost around $168 million annually, will come from revenue generated from an existing tax on internet gaming, he said.<\/p>\n The state\u2019s Fraternal Order of Police said in a statement that while no adjustment \u201ccan fully repay the commitment these men and women made throughout their careers,\u201d the increase \u201crestores a measure of fairness by helping ensure their retirement benefits better reflect today\u2019s economic realities.\u201d<\/p>\n State Sen. Katie Muth (D., Montgomery) said the pension increases are the \u201chigh point\u201d of this year\u2019s policy changes negotiated as part of the overall budget deal. <\/p>\n \u201cThese are our oldest retirees, many of them living in poverty,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is a good moment, but a late moment. This should have been done quite some time ago.\u201d<\/p>\n