The Retired Public Employees Council of Washington (RPEC) was formed in 1971 as an organization to promote the interests of retired state, county, city, and local government employees. RPEC is dedicated to issues directly affecting Public Employees Retirement System (PERS), School Employees Retirement System (SERS), and Public Safety Employees Retirement System (PSERS) retirees. We are affiliated with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME, AFL-CIO) and the Washington State Labor Council (WSLC). Our mission is to unite retired public employees for their mutual benefit and welfare. We promote legislation to improve financial and medical benefits, provide information to members, and work closely with other labor organizations. We have over 13,000 members organized into 28 local chapters across the state. Our members served their communities working for the state, counties, cities, municipalities, and labor organizations.
RPEC thanks you for taking time out of your busy campaign schedule to complete this questionnaire. Your responses will be an important factor in our endorsement consideration. Please submit your completed questionnaire by Tuesday, June 4. We ask that the candidate, not campaign staff, complete the questionnaire. Your campaign will be notified if you’ve received our endorsement after June 14. If you have any questions, please contact RPEC Government Affairs Coordinator Emmett Mills at emmett.mills@rpecwa.org.
For several decades, Americans’ ability to retire with dignity has been eroding. As many private-sector employers have taken defined-benefit pensions away, and individually managed, high-fee 401(k) plans have become increasingly common, workers have found themselves without the means to retire with secure income.
In 2011, the state legislature eliminated the annual cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, for Plan 1 (PERS 1 & TRS 1) retirees, making Plan 1 the only state pension plan without a mechanism for all members to keep pace with inflation. The decision was sold as a necessary measure to reduce costs during a budget crisis. 13 years later, retirees are still fighting to get their annual COLA back. RPEC’s advocacy resulted in the passage of one-time COLA bills in 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023, and 2024. Even so, most Plan 1 pensions have lost 40% of their purchasing power since 2010, the last year they received the annual COLA. Due to the high cost of living in our state, many retirees are being forced to move out of the communities they dedicated their lives to serving.
While one-time COLAs have provided much needed short-term relief, they are not a long-term solution. Thanks to a bill that RPEC helped pass in 2023, the Select Committee on Pension Policy (SCPP) is required to study and recommend an ongoing COLA proposal to the legislature by the end of this calendar year. This work is in progress and will continue throughout the interim. After 13 years of work on this issue, retirees expect the legislature to pass the SCPP’s ongoing COLA proposal in 2025 and restore their benefits.
Washington has among the best funded public employee pensions systems in the nation.
Approximately 78,000 Medicare-eligible retired public employees and their 30,000 dependents receive health insurance through the Public Employees Benefits Board (PEBB). Uniform Medical Plan (UMP) Classic Medicare is the most popular plan and the only government self-insured plan in the PEBB portfolio. Retirees value belonging to a government self-insured plan as they do not have to worry about a private insurance company denying claims.
In 2022, citing increasing costs for subscribers, the Health Care Authority (HCA) and PEBB attempted to end UMP Classic Medicare (while keeping UMP available for active employees) without seeking stakeholder input. RPEC led a successful opposition effort, and UMP Classic Medicare continues to be offered to this day. RPEC’s work has resulted in better communication with HCA, which is now working closely with retirees.
The state provides a subsidy for PEBB retiree health insurance benefits called the PEBB Medicare Explicit Subsidy. The state pays 50% of health insurance premiums, not to exceed $183 per month. Since the subsidy cap was first set at $183 in 2009, health care premiums have increased dramatically. When premiums increase for plans that have already reached the subsidy cap, the state provides no additional support for retirees on those plans. UMP Classic Medicare premiums increased by 46% over the last two years without the state providing any additional support. Next year, three PEBB plans are expected to exceed the $183 subsidy cap, and if the cap is not raised, all plans will soon exceed it.
Retirees are concerned about efforts at the federal level to privatize Medicare and force retirees into Medicare Advantage plans which limit access to providers and increase out-of-pocket costs. Many Medicare Advantage insurers engage in predatory marketing behaviors that misrepresent their benefits. Some insurers also wrongfully deny coverage to enrollees to maximize profit.
Washington’s upside-down tax system is one of the most regressive in the nation and disproportionately burdens seniors on fixed incomes, low-income families, and communities of color. RPEC members understand that their retirement security depends on the state’s ability to generate the revenue necessary to fully fund pensions and benefits in addition to state services. RPEC seeks to correct the regressive nature of our state’s tax structure and shift the tax burden from the poor to the wealthy.
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