Retired teachers in Texas set to receive first cost of living raise in 20 years

MADISONVILLE, Texas (KBTX) – Retired teachers across Texas are set to receive cost of living raises for the first time in 20 years as part of the constitutional amendments approved by voters in November.

During the November 2023 election, voters overwhelmingly passed the constitutional amendment, which allocates money from the state’s budget surplus to grant cost of living adjustments for retired teachers. Proposition 9 passed with the largest margin in support of the amendment.

Lawsuits challenging the legitimacy of the election results threatened to put those raises on pause. Many retired teachers in the state live on less than a thousand dollars a month, well below the average cost of living for the state.

“Nobody can live on a thousand dollars a month very successfully,” Dr. James Warner, Legislative Chair for district six of the Texas Retired Teachers Association, said.

Gov. Abbot certified the election results at the start of the month. The office of the attorney general said the lawsuits, which were filed out of Travis County, were improperly submitted, making them invalid.

Online records show a state judge won’t hear that case until at least January, but the state is moving forward. The Retired Teachers Association said they expect raises to go into effect at the start of 2024.

“When I say we’ve worked for 20 years toward this, most of these people have been there the full 20. So they’re, they’re elated,” Warner said.

The Madison County Retired School Personnel Christmas lunch held educators with 1,661 years of teaching experience combined.

“We didn’t become teachers for the pay, you know, we became teachers for the kids,” co-President Lorraine Coleman said.

Warner said it’s been far too long without a pay increase, especially for retirees who are still caretakers.

“You need to realize there are retirees who are still responsible for children who are handicapped, have grown into adults, and they still are the caretakers for those folks. I hear these stories all the time and they’re heart wrenching, and so we feel like this is a tremendous success,” he shared.

It’s a great Christmas present for retired teachers.