Tell Your Rep: Fund Our Pensions Now

Below is the message that our president, Luther Elmore, sent members this weekend about calling state representatives to urge their support for SB 321 in advance of this week’s House vote.

Thanks to your efforts to get our pensions funded, SB 321, a bill that will invest more than $1 billion into ERS, passed out of the state appropriations committee this week. 

But it’s not done yet and we need your help to get this critical ERS funding. Please call your state representative right now at 1-866-685-7833 and tell them to vote yes on SB 321. 

As I’m sure you know, our pension plan is underfunded and will eventually run out of money without additional funding from the state. Like you and thousands of our fellow retired Texas public service workers, I rely on my pension and we must make sure it’s on a sound financial footing. 

In addition to the more than a billion new dollars into the plan over the next two years, SB 321 would continue to put $1 billion more every following biennium until the plan is fully funded. Once the plan is sound, we can work to secure a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for retirees. 

During our careers, public service workers like you and me paid into our pensions. We did our part and now we need our state representatives to do their part. Call them at 1-866-685-7833 and urge them to vote yes on SB 321. 

We’re expecting this bill to be voted on next week so now’s the time to act.