skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Retired Teachers, Police, Other Public Workers Could See Pension Bump

play audio
Play

Monday, March 2, 2020   

CHEYENNE, Wyo. -- The cost of health care, groceries and housing has increased dramatically since 2008, the last time Wyoming's retired public employees saw an inflation adjustment in their monthly pension checks, and many are having trouble keeping up.

Last week, Wyoming lawmakers passed House Bill 112 to give the state's former teachers, police, firefighters and other public workers some relief.

Anastasia Marchese, a coordinator with the Wyoming Coalition for a Healthy Retirement, hopes the Senate follows suit.

"Retired public employees across the state are in dire need of an inflation adjustment this year," she states. "It's been over 12 years since the last inflation adjustment. The cost of health care alone has put a major strain on our retirees."

HB 112 would provide an inflation adjustment in 2020 depending on how long a retiree has been retired, and also would fund a study on the lost spending power of retirees in the state.

Some lawmakers express concern about bumping up pension checks given the state's tight budget restraints and ongoing challenges facing the oil and gas industry.

Pension benefits in Wyoming created more than $790 million in economic output in 2016, according to the National Institute on Retirement Security, and supported 5,100 jobs.

Wayne Schatz, executive director of Wyoming Retired Education Personnel, says helping retirees who dedicated their entire career to serving their communities also will help local and state economies.

"Every penny that is given to these people becomes critical because Wyoming retirees do support their local communities," he points out. "They support the jobs that are there."

Wyoming's public sector retirees have lost an estimated 21% of their spending power since the last inflation adjustment, according to the Wyoming Cost of Living Index.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021