A piece of legislation (House Bill 1340) providing for a one-time stipend payment to retired state employees is now eligible to be heard on the Senate Floor. The bill has already passed out of the House of Representatives. For Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS) members the amount of the stipend payment would be either 2% of the retiree’s gross annual retirement benefit or $1,200, whichever is less. It would only be paid to those OPERS members who have been retired for a period of five years or more as of October 1, 2018.
As you know, OPEA worked with members of the other pension systems (teachers, firefighters, etc.) to push for a 8% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) and that was contained in House Bill 2985. That bill passed overwhelmingly in a House Committee, but was then denied a House Floor hearing by House leadership.
While the stipend payment is a small help to retirees, who’ve been neglected for more than a decade, it does not come close to addressing their real needs. We urge you to contact your State Senator today and tell them to pass this bill, but make sure they know they need to do MUCH MORE than this.
If you need any help identifying who your Senator is please e-mail or call us at info@opea.org or 405-524-6764.
You can also look them up by going to this link and entering your address.
http://www.oklegislature.gov/FindMyLegislature.aspx
There will be a very large turnover of legislators in the upcoming election and rest assured that OPEA will work as hard as it can to help elect legislators who support retired State Employees.
Thank you
