CALL
TO ACTION:
Senator
Brady and the Senate Republican Caucus, with the approval of the Governor, has
introduced their agreed upon budget, Senate Bill 2214, which will
decrease funding to the Teachers Retirement Insurance Program by 1/3 below the
certified levels. This is an even greater underfunding level than was
originally proposed in SB 42, which the IRTA managed to get defeated in the
Senate.
The
IRTA is taking this 1/3 reduction to TRIP as an indication that the proposed
Republican budget plan would phase out the TRIP program over the next three
years, which would be a diminishment to your benefits.
Please
reach out yet again to your legislators and tell them to VOTE NO on SB 2214
(the budget) and SB 2217 (the BIMP) and any other measure that would diminish
the benefits to retired educators.
Click the link below to log in and send your message:
https://www.votervoice.net/BroadcastLinks/oO1KFZcSpO7Lg6Zo5KV7Gg
For full text of SB 2214, click here.
For full text of SB 2217, click here.
For signing up for IRTA membership, click here.
For video on Defeating SB 2017, click here.
For the IRTA Political Action Committee Fund, click here.
For full text of SB 2217, click here.
For signing up for IRTA membership, click here.
For video on Defeating SB 2017, click here.
For the IRTA Political Action Committee Fund, click here.
Tell your legislators about KANERVA v. WEEMS (July 3, 2014):
ReplyDeleteThe Pension Protection Clause makes it “clear that if something qualifies as a benefit of the enforceable contractual relationship resulting from membership in one of the State’s pension or retirement systems, it cannot be diminished or impaired… [The State of Illinois or anyone else] may not rewrite the Pension Protection Clause to include restrictions and limitations that the drafters did not express and the citizens of Illinois did not approve... [P]ension benefits are insulated from diminishment or impairment by the General Assembly…” (Kanerva, 2014 IL 115811, 38, 41, 48).
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ReplyDeleteMr. glen brown:
Thank you for your support!
You have communicated with the following:
Senator Michael Connelly
From the IRTA
ReplyDeleteDear Members,
If you have not listened to the script video below, please do so. Sorry if you have already seen this. I thought it was excellently done and has vital information for those of you on the state insurance plan.
Marge
YOUR ACTION NEEDED-- SB 2217 Strips State Funding for Retiree Health Insurance
Hi, I’m Ed Wollet. The Illinois General Assembly returns to session this week and will consider Senate Bill 2217. A recent Voter Voice email we sent to you asked you to contact your local senator encouraging them to vote against S-B 2217. The bill strips state funding for TRS health insurance known as TRIP. Removing the continuing appropriation for teachers’ health insurance will leave the burden of making up the difference on retiree annuitants like you and me. We estimate that yearly amount to be $114,000,000, which will result in a minimum health insurance increase of 23 percent.
It’s important that we vigilantly oppose this legislation. Here are three things you must do now:
First, be sure you are signed up to receive Voter Voice email alerts. If you are not currently receiving Voter Voice alerts, contact the IRTA office at 800-728-4782 and sign up today.
Second, join other IRTA members in setting aside one dollar per month in the IRTA Political Action Committee fund. Enrolling is easy. IRTAPAC is our first line of defense by supporting legislators who oppose bad legislation becoming bad law. Currently only about 5000 of the more than 37,500 IRTA members participate in this one-dollar per month program. Twelve dollars per year helps to protect thousands of dollars of pension and health insurance benefits.
Third, be sure you have an active IRTA membership. If you’re not a member, sign up today. If your spouse isn’t a member, sign him or her up today as an associate member. If you’re a new retiree this year or will retire in the next four years, sign up as a pipeline member.
The power of IRTA to continue to fight for your benefits depends on your active membership, your voice through the political action committee, and your willingness to tell your legislator to oppose unfair legislation.
Thank you.
The Illinois Retired Teachers Association is a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization of retired educators. The Association serves the needs and interests of its members through advocacy, education, cooperation and socialization in a flexible organizational structure.
IRTA | Springfield, Ill. | 217-523-8488| www.irtaonline.org
Please vote NO to SB2017 bill and any other legislation that works adversely to affect the teacher's pension. I worked for 34 years and planned out strategically for my retirement that I very much need to live on.
ReplyDelete