Dear BROTHER AND SISTER NH LAW ENFORCEMENT RETIREES;
The New Hampshire House is hosting public meetings on Governor Hassan’s proposed budget,
and we must take this opportunity to make our case publicly and vocally for the restoration of
Cost of Living Adjustments (COLAs) for New Hampshire retirees.
As it stands today, no retiree will ever receive a Cost of Living Adjustment unless the NH Legislature
decides to put one into their biannual budget. Prior to 2011, COLAs were paid through the Special Account.
This account held excess earnings in order to pay for COLAs from 1-5%. Since 2008, all of the money in
the special account has been taken out to help employers keep their costs down.
Because the legislature has taken away the funding mechanism and funding for your Cost of Living Adjustments,
it is now your time to demand they give you what you earned each and every day you were on the job.
We are requesting that every one of you turn out on Thursday, March 7, at Representatives Hall
in the State House in Concord. The budget hearing runs from 4pm to 7pm.
There will be a brief Press Conference at 3:30 in the LOB before the Budget Hearing. The NH Retirement Security
Coalition is looking for retirees interested in speaking at this press conference for a minute or two discussing how
a lack of COLA has affected you, broken promises and the like..
Turnout is key. Our goal is to have as many members – both active and retired – as possible to project a unified voice
that COLAs are necessary, deserved, and overdue. This event will not succeed without everyone’s support.
While there is a Court case making its way through the system to bring back your COLA, we do not have an answer at
this time. Retirees have gone years without a COLA. It needs to stop today!
Please plan to arrive with plenty of advanced time. Other community members will be turning out, and we want to
guarantee there are seats for you. We will be providing brief talking points for you to use for your public testimony,
and encourage you to tell your personal stories about how the lack of a COLA has personally affected you and your family.
Once again, this event cannot succeed without your help. This is a critical opportunity for your voice to be heard.
