Pennsylvania Grants 80,000 Retirees Pension Boosts in $50.8 Billion Budget
Updated
Updated · The Philadelphia Inquirer · Jul 13
Pennsylvania Grants 80,000 Retirees Pension Boosts in $50.8 Billion Budget
3 articles · Updated · The Philadelphia Inquirer · Jul 13
Summary
More than 80,000 retired Pennsylvania teachers, state workers, police officers and firefighters will get monthly pension increases, with some receiving their first bump in decades after the budget was signed Sunday.
Retired teachers and other state employees who left before July 2, 2001 will get tiered increases this month, while police and firefighters retired more than five years will receive $50 to $300 more starting next month.
The increase follows years of pressure from unions and lawmakers as inflation squeezed older retirees; prices have risen 86% since the last cost-of-living adjustment for police and firefighters in 2002.
$168 million a year will fund the benefit, paid entirely by the state from existing internet gaming tax revenue rather than municipal pension contributions.
The eligible retirees in Pennsylvania’s two main pension funds average just over 81 and 84 years old, and lawmakers from both parties say they now want annual inflation-linked adjustments.