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Friday, Oct. 03, 2008

Former educators may lose automatic cost-of-living increase

State policymakers are considering a change in teacher retirement pay, shifting twice-a-year cost-of-living increases from a guarantee to something that would have to be voted on.

Retired educators now receive 1.5 percent increases automatically each January and July, according to the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia, which manages retirement funds for 75,000 retired members and 272,000 nonretired educators.

But Gov. Sonny Perdue has asked the system's board to consider approving - or not approving - those increases each May. That way, it can take into account various financial changes that may affect the fund. The change would bring the Teachers Retirement System in line with other state employee retirement systems, according to the governor's office.

"At the end of the day, this is about making the fund more sustainable for the long term," said Bert Brantley, Perdue's press secretary.

The potential change, which the teachers board is expected to vote on next month, has been unpopular with retired teachers. The system's executive director, Jeffrey Ezell, said he's gotten hundreds of e-mails, and "all the ones I've looked at have been against it."

The Georgia Retired Educators Association is running a campaign against the change, and an e-mail from association Executive Director Bill Sloan tells members to "Get Ready for a WAR!"

The system is well-funded and has "the ability to weather fluctuations in the market" because it's an institutional, long-term investor, Ezell said. It was 94.7 percent funded at its last valuation, and experts often say anything above 80 percent is good, he said.

For the last fiscal year, the increase amounted to about $30 million for the system, Ezell said. And since each increase becomes permanent, the potential impact of not giving an increase would go up each year.

It will come down to what the board wants to do. There are 10 members, five of whom are appointed by the governor. Two others are state financial officers, including the state auditor; one is appointed by the Board of Regents; and the remaining two are appointed by the rest of the board, Ezell said.

Sherrell Cherry, a retired Taylor Elementary School principal in Bibb County, said she's against the change.

"TRS happens to be one of the most solvent retirement systems around," she said.

"People count on (these increases)," she said. "You know, retirees don't get a raise. They never get any raise but cost of living."

To contact writer Travis Fain, call 744-4213.