Issues

State treasurers warn of pension fund, 401(k) damage if debt ceiling breached

State treasurers warn of pension fund, 401(k) damage if debt ceiling breached

By BRIAN CROCE 

Pensions & Investments

A group of 11 state treasurers and the comptrollers of Maryland and New York City are calling on House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., "to cooperate in increasing the debt limit of our country in a timely manner," in order to prevent economic chaos.

No Deal On WEP

No Deal On WEP

Congressional Budget Agreement Does Not Include Social Security Fix

December 20, 2022: Christmas did not come early for public retirees. Late last night, Mass Retirees and TRTA officials received word from Congressional leaders that they were not able to achieve a bipartisan deal to reform the Social Security Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). The $1.7 trillion federal omnibus bill will move forward without tackling WEP or GPO.

Big news on GIC & Social Security

Do you remember when I said that December would be a busy month? It turns out that things have been even busier than I anticipated – which is saying something.

I have three things to report to you this week:

  1. Our Central Mass. area meeting takes place today (Friday) at 11AM

  2. Breaking news from the GIC on the selection of CVSHealth as the pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) for both Medicare and non-Medicare plans

    GIC SELECTS CVS AS FY24 PHARMACY MANAGER

    GIC SELECTS CVS AS FY24 PHARMACY MANAGER

    INCLUDES MEDICARE & NON-MEDICARE PLANS

    DECEMBER 15, 2022: The Group Insurance Commission held the final monthly commission meeting of the year on December 15th.  A major piece of business on the agenda was the selection of Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM).

    Urgent Call to Action on WEP Reform

    Urgent Call to Action on WEP Reform

    Time to Act is Now!

    December 1, 2022: Let me get right to the point. If you are subjected to the Social Security Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), now is the time for you to join me in demanding Congress pass a reform law in 2022 that will bring needed relief from the WEP.

    Major retiree health insurance news

    Major retiree health insurance news

    October 21, 2022: Thursday brought some highly anticipated news to the 460,000 enrollees covered by the state’s Group Insurance Commission (GIC). After months of closed-door work to review and score the winning bids from respondents through the procurement process, the GIC unveiled the 4 Medicare and 7 non-Medicare health insurance plans to be offered starting in FY24.

    CPI hits 8.7%

    CPI hits 8.7%

    October 14, 2022: Thursday morning’s announcement by the Social Security Administration of an 8.7% COLA increase for 2023, while not unexpected, confirms what we already knew – inflation has placed substantial financial pressure on retirees. In fact, an 8.7% Consumer Price Index (CPI) is the largest increase since 1981, when inflation hit 11.2%!

    New developments with Social Security

    New developments with Social Security

    September 23, 2022: This week brought major developments in the nationwide fight to repeal or reform the Social Security WEP and GPO laws. One of these developments was history making.

    Retirees were heard

    Retirees were heard

    9/9/22 Weekly Update: By CEO Shawn Duhamel

    Before I jump into the news of the week, let me first remind everyone that our Annual Meeting takes place today (Friday) at Lombardo’s in Randolph. The meeting will kick off at 11AM. As is the case at all Mass Retirees meetings, members can bring a guest.

    5% COLA For State and Teacher Retirees: Local Option Pending in Senate

    September 2022 Voice: During the summer of 2021, as serious signs of inflation began to become evident, Mass Retirees put a plan in place to build the case for improvements to the COLA starting in Fiscal Year 2023. These efforts paid off with the passage of a 5% COLA, signed into law by Governor Baker in late July.

    Backed by historically high pension fund investment returns over the bulk of the past decade, the Association made the case for sharing the success with retirees in the form of better COLA benefits.