STRS COLA SOUND BITE

From Mario Iacone, July 15, 2009

Tim Myers, Vice Chairman of the STRS Board recently stated

that only 79 out of 109 pension systems give COLAs (cost of living adjustment), that most COLAs were in the 1.5 - 2% range, and that the 3% COLA was virtually unheard of.

There are two sides to every set of statistics. But, we may be hearing only the side which supports reduction/elimination of COLA.

That quote of that statistic is just a meaningless sound bite without presenting clarification.

At least, two important questions would have to be answered with respect to those statistics.

How many of the systems with 1.5-2% COLA have a compounded COLA which STRS does not have?

What is the employee/employer contribution rate of the systems with less COLA and NO COLA? Do they approach almost 25% as STRS does?