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 30 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 Friday, May 23. We ask that the candidate, not campaign staff, complete the questionnaire. Your campaign will be notified in June if you’ve received our endorsement. If you have any questions, please contact Derek VanSpoor, Associate Director, at derek.vanspoor@rpecwa.org.
For several decades, Americans’ ability to retire with dignity has been eroding.
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. RPEC’s advocacy resulted in the passage of one-time COLA bills in 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023, and 2024. Even so, most Plan 1 pensioners have lost 41% 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) sponsored bills in the 2025 legislative session to restore a recurring COLA to PERS/TRS 1 retirees. Unfortunately, the companion bills failed, as did another bill, sponsored by Sen. June Robinson, that also funded a one-time COLA in 2025 and a recurring COLA in 2026. The SCPP has been directed by the Legislature to revisit the recurring COLA through analysis of the bills that were introduced this past legislative session.
Approximately 78,000 Medicare-eligible retired public employees and their 30,000 dependents receive health insurance through the Public Employees Benefits Board (PEBB).
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.
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.
This legislative session, the Governor and Legislature held opposing views about how to address the state’s $15 billion budget shortfall. 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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