2018 Indiana General Assembly Passes SB 373 Unanimously
BARTA Members Lobbied for the bill at spring legislature
Pension supplemental allowance reserve accounts have become law in Indiana. Receiving a unanimous thumbs up in both the Senate and the House, SB 373, a move to stabilize and provide supplemental benefits to public employees' pension plans passed the Indiana Legislature March 7. Read on below.
BARTA members Joyce Heckman and John Quick confer with Tom Mellish, Executive Director of IRTA about SB 373.
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Chief IRTA lobbyist Steve Beebe (right) works to bring about legislation to favor IRTA interests.
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LOBBYING AT THE STATE LEGISLATURE: BARTA members Joyce Heckman and John Quick lobbied for the passage of SB 373 bill at the IRTA Legislative Brunch, Feb. 21. Speaking with author of the bill, Senator Greg Walker, and House Minority leader, Terry Goodin, our members thanked Senator Walker for his work on the bill and discussed the need for the passage of the bill with Terry Goodin. Both legislators spoke positively about the need to bring some order into funding supplemental benefits for PERF, EGC and TRF (all now combined as INPRS). Heckman and Quick also requested meetings with House members Milo Smith and Sean Eberhart. Neither were able to meet with them at that time.
THE DETAILS OF SB 373: The purpose of SB 373 is to provide for paying post-retirement benefit increases, thirteenth checks, and other benefit changes or adjustments granted by the general assembly after June 30, 2018. (Note: originally the bill used the term COLA rather than "other benefit changes.") Funding after June 30, will come through the state lottery commission which will transfer each quarter $7,500,000 of the surplus revenue from the commission's administrative trust fund to the Indiana public retirement system (INPRS), eventually landing in one or more of the reserve accounts as allocated by the INPRS board of trustees. The allocated $35 million is estimated by IRTA to be about the amount needed to fund a thirteenth check. For more details about this bill, go to
https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2018/bills/senate/373#document-98269341 .
THE DETAILS OF SB 373: The purpose of SB 373 is to provide for paying post-retirement benefit increases, thirteenth checks, and other benefit changes or adjustments granted by the general assembly after June 30, 2018. (Note: originally the bill used the term COLA rather than "other benefit changes.") Funding after June 30, will come through the state lottery commission which will transfer each quarter $7,500,000 of the surplus revenue from the commission's administrative trust fund to the Indiana public retirement system (INPRS), eventually landing in one or more of the reserve accounts as allocated by the INPRS board of trustees. The allocated $35 million is estimated by IRTA to be about the amount needed to fund a thirteenth check. For more details about this bill, go to
https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2018/bills/senate/373#document-98269341 .
Do you Know someone who needs a Helping hand?
A HAND UP program aids retired teachers
Retired teachers, especially those very elderly recipients of particularly small pensions, may find meeting the cost of unexpected expenses quite difficult. A Hand Up program provides $1000 grants to IRTA members who are facing short term financial emergencies. Revealing just how important this program is, during its first nine months of life, A Hand Up awarded $3500 in four grants to our members. For more information and applications go to https://www.retiredteachers.org/foundation .
active teacher grant is newest
foundation program
IRTF's newest program received more than 375 applications in its first three years of existence, proving just how important assistance for active teachers has become. Public school educators, pre-K through 12, may apply for an Active Teacher Grant to help provide funds for a special project for their students. Applications are due by September 30 of each year, and up to $500 will be available for grants in each of the ten IRTA districts. More details and applications may be found at http://www.retiredteachers.org/foundation .
Irta Foundation has sCHOLARSHIPs FOR fUTURE tEACHERS
BARTA's parent organization, Indiana Retired Teachers Association and its Foundation, supports its members and their families by sponsoring a minimum of ten scholarships per year for Indiana college students. Sophomore and junior education majors who are children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, legal dependents, or spouses of active IRTA members may apply for a $2000 scholarship by June 30. A minimum of one scholarship in each of the ten IRTA areas will be awarded annually. Last year no one for our District 7 received an award because no eligible applications were received. Here in Indiana fewer and fewer students are working toward an education degree. Perhaps this lack of applicants is symptomatic of that malaise. For information use this link: http://www.retiredteachers.org/foundation .