Dear Editor,
As a state employee/retiree, I am writing in regards to the PERS Study Commission’s intent to cut benefits promised to PERS members and retirees. The Study Commission will unveil its plan on November 15, a week after Mississippi will hold state elections. Not all PERS members and retirees are aware that their benefits are under attack, and we must hold politicians accountable on Election Day.
I have worked for Pearl River Community College for 12 years (this is my 12 year). I have based my career decisions and retirement plans on the promises made to me when I became a state employee. We have paid into the retirement fund and now possibly will be put into stock market funds that are not permanent. I do not want to retire only to discover the stock market crashed and I have nothing to live on. It is bad enough I will not be able to make it on the retirement funds already in place but to put it into an unstable stock market is unfair to us. We have worked without pay raises while our medical benefits keep rising. I just want you to honor your promise to us when we retire. This is really unfair to us as employees of the state. We have dedicated most of our lives to the state to have a promise broken.
I encourage everyone to visit the website www.honoryourpromise.com for more information and to sign the petition.
Sincerely, Cynthia Schafer
Media Specialist
Pearl River Community College
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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