ODESSA, Texas (KMID-KPEJ) – Senate Bill 10 gave Texas voters the opportunity to vote for the increase of retired school employee’s annuity increase or Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) with Proposition 9. This is a win for all retired Texas public education employees. This will impact not only teachers, but custodians, maintenance staff, bus drivers, cafeteria staff, secretaries, attendance clerks, school nurses, principals, and administrators.

Retirees that have been retired the longest will received the largest increase in retirement benefits; that is anyone that retired on or before September of 2001. As time goes on, salaries and retirement amounts have increased to the cost of living and inflation. This results in different percentage increases based on retirement date, qualifying for a 6%, 4%, or 2% increase under Prop 9. Rick Chandler, Texas Retirement Teaching Association in Odessa, says “This is the first increase in public school employee’s retirement pay in 20 years.”

This is major since most school employees do not receive social security and their only source of income is their annuity from The Teacher Retirement System. About 30% of retired public school employees receive an annuity of $1,000.00 or less per month. This increase comes at time when inflation is at an all-time high.