Community Outreach | District 6 @ Kannapolis NC

Tracie Eubank on April 5, 2023

June 6, 2023 @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

NCRGEA is inviting all retired public servants, both state and local, to join us for refreshments and a discussion of issues that affect public service retirees of North Carolina.

We’ll talk about current legislative issues, retiree issues, and retirement benefits available to all public service retirees. We’ll also give away a $25 gift card.

This is a great opportunity to meet and speak with other retirees who share the same concerns you have and to talk to Josephine, Director of Insurance Services at NCRGEA with your questions.

Location:

Cabarrus County Government | Milestone Facility | 4855 Milestone Ave | Kannapolis NC 28081

Interested in attending? Call 919-834-4652 or email josephine@rgea.info.

Community Outreach | District 3 @ Greensboro NC

Tracie Eubank on April 5, 2023

May 24, 2023 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am

NCRGEA is inviting all retired public servants, both state and local, to join us for refreshments and a discussion of issues that affect public service retirees of North Carolina.

We’ll talk about current legislative issues, retiree issues, and retirement benefits available to all public service retirees. We’ll also give away a $25 gift card.

This is a great opportunity to meet and speak with other retirees who share the same concerns you have and to talk to Josephine, Director of Insurance Services at NCRGEA with your questions.

Location:

Brown Recreation Center, Room 101 | 302 E. Vandalia Rd | Greensboro NC 27402

Interested in attending? Call 919-834-4652 or email josephine@rgea.info.

Community Outreach | District 3 @ High Point NC

Tracie Eubank on April 5, 2023

May 23, 2023 @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

NCRGEA is inviting all retired public servants, both state and local, to join us for refreshments and a discussion of issues that affect public service retirees of North Carolina.

We’ll talk about current legislative issues, retiree issues, and retirement benefits available to all public service retirees. We’ll also give away a $25 gift card.

This is a great opportunity to meet and speak with other retirees who share the same concerns you have and to talk to Josephine, Director of Insurance Services at NCRGEA with your questions.

Location:

Roy B Culler Senior Center | 921 Eastchester Dr, Suite 1230 | High Point NC 27262

Interested in attending? Call 919-834-4652 or email josephine@rgea.info.

Community Outreach | District 5 @ Rocky Mount NC

Tracie Eubank on April 5, 2023

May 18, 2023 @ 11:00 am – 12:00 pm

NCRGEA is inviting all retired public servants, both state and local, to join us for refreshments and a discussion of issues that affect public service retirees of North Carolina.

We’ll talk about current legislative issues, retiree issues, and retirement benefits available to all public service retirees. We’ll also give away a $25 gift card.

This is a great opportunity to meet and speak with other retirees who share the same concerns you have and to talk to Josephine, Director of Insurance Services at NCRGEA with your questions.

Location:

City of Rocky Mount Senior Center | 427-S Church St | Rocky Mount NC 27804

Interested in attending? Call 919-834-4652 or email josephine@rgea.info.

Community Outreach | District 5 @ Elizabeth City NC

Tracie Eubank on April 5, 2023

May 17, 2023 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am

NCRGEA is inviting all retired public servants, both state and local, to join us for refreshments and a discussion of issues that affect public service retirees of North Carolina.

We’ll talk about current legislative issues, retiree issues, and retirement benefits available to all public service retirees. We’ll also give away a $25 gift card.

This is a great opportunity to meet and speak with other retirees who share the same concerns you have and to talk to Josephine, Director of Insurance Services at NCRGEA with your questions.

Location:

NC Cooperative Extension-Pasquotank County Center | 1209 McPherson St | Elizabeth City NC 27909

Interested in attending? Call 919-834-4652 or email josephine@rgea.info.

Community Outreach | District 5 @ Barco NC

Tracie Eubank on April 5, 2023

May 16, 2023 @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

NCRGEA is inviting all retired public servants, both state and local, to join us for refreshments and a discussion of issues that affect public service retirees of North Carolina.

We’ll talk about current legislative issues, retiree issues, and retirement benefits available to all public service retirees. We’ll also give away a $25 gift card.

This is a great opportunity to meet and speak with other retirees who share the same concerns you have and to talk to Josephine, Director of Insurance Services at NCRGEA with your questions.

Location:

Currituck County Center | 120 Community Way | Barco NC 27917

Interested in attending? Call 919-834-4652 or email josephine@rgea.info.

Letter to the Editor | State government retirees drowning in inflation

Tracie Eubank on March 23, 2023

Tim O’Connell, Executive Director, North Carolina Retired Governmental Employees Association – March 9, 2023

More than 320,000 local and state government retirees are drowning in inflation. With a likely probability of another multi-billion-dollar surplus for the state, it’s time to do the right thing and provide inflation-fighting cost-of-living adjustments for these dedicated women and men.

The fact that everything costs more today is common knowledge. Over the past decade, individual purchasing power has declined by 29 percent. The basket of basic goods bought 10 years ago for $100 now costs $129. During this same period, cost-of-living adjustments totaled just 2 percent for state retirees and less than 1 percent for local government retirees.

This widening gap of lack of cost-of-living adjustments related to inflation hurts not only the retirees but the entire North Carolina economy. This is particularly true in North Carolina’s rural counties, where a higher percentage of retired public servants live compared to urban counties.

And yet retirees are good for the state’s economy. The National Institute of Retirement Security reports that in North Carolina, public pensioners support more than 49,477 jobs across all 100 counties and across a breadth of industries, from hospitality to healthcare to real estate. The value of this to the North Carolina economy is $8.1 billion a year and excludes the $1.2 billion this group pays in taxes to the state and federal government. The continued stagnation of cost-of-living adjustments will reduce this impact if not addressed.

While retirees remain grateful for the one-time bonuses the North Carolina General Assembly and Retirement System Trustees have provided over the past decade, such appreciated efforts will not abate the issue of short and long-term inflation. With the average retirement payment of approximately $1,650 monthly for retired public servants and the current 29 percent reduction in buying power adjusted for inflation, North Carolina has not seen this significant disparity in nearly 50 years.

Public sector retirees are forced to make hard decisions at the grocery store and at the pharmacy, and some struggle to maintain their own homes. Governmental retirees are our neighbors, friends, and parents. They educated our children, maintained our roads, cared for our loved ones, provided our families with clean drinking water, and were the first responders who put in long and often dangerous hours to keep our communities safe.

As we look at ways to bolster the resiliency of the North Carolina economy, serious consideration must be given to how it can be done in a way that provides dignity and quality of life to governmental retirees. As our legislators and elected officials make decisions in what is projected as another year of surplus revenues, they cannot forget our retired public servants.

NC Supreme Court Ruling On State Retirees’ Health Insurance Benefits: NCRGEA Releases Statement

Tracie Eubank on March 12, 2022

“We are extremely pleased with the decision filed by the North Carolina Supreme Court today holding that eligible State employees have a vested right in a noncontributory health plan for life.  This Association has worked on this case to support retirees’ rights for almost 10 years.”

“As the Court stated, ‘These employees reasonably relied on the promise of this benefit in choosing to accept employment with the State.  They are entitled to the benefit of their bargain, which includes eligibility to enroll in a premium-free plan offering the same or greater coverage value as the one available to them when their rights vested.’”

“This decision has been a long time in coming.  We are grateful to the attorneys, led by Christopher Whelchel and Michael Carpenter at  the Gray Layton Kersh firm in Gastonia, with great assistance from attorneys Sam McGee and Gary Jackson, who have worked so hard for so long to protect retirees’ rights.  We are also grateful to AARP and the North Carolina Association of Educators for their support.”

“We agree with the Court’s determination that this dispute raises issues of profound importance to the hundreds of thousands of dedicated public employees who devoted their lives to serving their fellow North Carolinians, often for far less immediate remuneration than would have been available to them in the private sector.”

The Lake Case court decision may be viewed on the North Carolina Judicial Branch website.