Educators and unions push to raise pension COLA base and cap retiree health costs in H2812/S1817

Max Page, president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, and other educators urged the Joint Committee on Public Service to report House Bill 2812 and its Senate partner S1817 favorably. Page said the bill would increase the dollar base used to calculate the 3% cost‑of‑living adjustment (COLA) on pensions from $13,000 to $18,000 and would ‘‘prevent’’ future increases in retiree health insurance cost sharing by freezing the percentage retirees pay at the level in effect when they retire.

Page said public employees do not contribute to Social Security and therefore depend on state pensions; he testified the current COLA formula now applies to only about 15% of a typical pension’s value and that increasing the base is ‘‘a real step forward.’’ Gail Carvalho, president of the Quincy Education Association, and other retired teachers described small dollar impacts of the current COLA (one witness described a $390 annual increase at 3% on the $13,000 base) and urged the committee to act to preserve retiree dignity and to sustain the pipeline of public‑service workers.

AFT Massachusetts (Mike Canavan) added that the bills would also cap out‑of‑pocket health costs for retirees age 65 who are not eligible for Medicare at $2,500 for individuals and $5,000 for families, and advocate tying future COLA increases to Social Security benchmarks. Witnesses said the change would aid retirees facing rising health and long‑term care costs and help recruitment and retention of public servants.

The committee did not record a vote during the hearing. Witnesses submitted written testimony and asked for a favorable report.