Retired Public Employees Council of WA Working to protect and enhance the pension and health care benefits of Washington retired state, county and local government employees
RPEC Weekly ACTION Newsletter – 3-29-2019
In This Edition
- ACTION ALERT – Contact Your Legislators about Budget
- WA State Legislative Bill Summary
- RPEC PAC Deduction Update
ACTION ALERT – Contact Your Legislators about Budget
Budget negotiations are in full swing. The House proposal, released on March 25th, included an increase in the PEBB Medicare Benefit from $168 to $183, but it did not include the 3% COLA for Plan 1 members that was included in the Governor’s proposed budget. The Senate proposal included neither the PEBB increase nor the COLA.
While this modest increase to the PEBB benefit would be helpful, retirees must keep the pressure on the Legislature to continue to address the loss of purchasing power experienced by Plan 1 retirees and to provide adequate relief from increases Medicare supplement premiums.
Please continue to contact your legislators and ask them to include the COLA and PEBB Medicare Benefit at $200 or more per month in the final state budget.
The Legislative Hotline number is 1-800-562-6000
WA State Legislative Bill Summary
Below are the bills we are tracking as they move through the legislative process. Full Text and updates on these bills can be found by searching for the bill number at: https://app.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/
Here is a link to the list of bills currently of focus to RPEC: http://www.rpecwa.org/bill-summary-3-29-2019/
RPEC PAC Deduction Update
The RPEC PAC deduction is now active. Contributors will begin having their voluntary contribution deducted from their DRS pension account starting with the payment at the end of March. We thank those who have already signed up, if you are interested in participating, please contact the council office or visit www.rpecwa.org/rpec-pac-deduction-form/
