Dear MRPEA members, PERS members and other retirees:

As you know, the 2013 session of the Mississippi legislature is now under way.

We have a lot at stake with their future legislation. I am quoting information that I have received from MPERA that could impact our Public Employees Retirement System. Information received by MPREA from inside the Capitol has indicated that consideration is being given to legislation that could change the composition of the PERS Board of Trustees and possible legislation that could drastically change the cost-of-living adjustment for each retiree receiving benefits.

At present we do not have a bill number, but we are convinced that such changes will be proposed.

Our MPREA Legislative Committee plans to meet with the leadership in both the House and Senate in the next few days to emphasize their support for the PERS board and the current benefit structure and opposition to changes.

My letter is an effort to make all members of PERS aware that efforts will be made to change PERS during the 2013 legislative session.

We need to contact our Mississippi legislators and remind them that we need their support to keep our PERS board structure as it currently exists. Changing the board structure could eliminate input from retirees and active employees and give more control to political officials.

I ask all PERS members in the Miss-Lou to phone, write or e-mail the legislators, the governor and any other officials you may know and ask them to support retaining our current board structure and to preserve our current benefit structure.

Please watch the website, e-mail and the news media closely for information concerning legislation which will be detrimental to PERS.

Please act now and contact the legislators. We must unite in our efforts to protect our retirement system in these difficult economic times.

This letter is intended for educator (public school, college/university) retirees, municipal retirees, state highway patrol retirees, public health retirees and all persons actively working in these areas and who are members of the Mississippi Public Employees Retirement System.

We need everyone to be united in this effort.

 

Corinne Randazzo

retired educator, Natchez-Adams School District

and Vidalia resident