This post was originally posted in August of 2017, and has been updated to reflect this year's COLA numbers.
This year LAGERS retirees will receive a COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) of around 2.87%. This increase will be reflected on October 1st and it means much more than just a slight increase to your monthly benefit. It shows the strength and overall financial security of your LAGERS pension system.
Tagged COLA, Defined Benefit, Funding, Members, Retirees, Retirement, Security
If your employer has elected the Rule of 80 option for your LAGERS retirement benefit, you have another option for when you can retire and collect your benefit.
Tagged early retirement, rule of 80, pensions, Retirement Benefits, Retirement Options, Retirement, Benefit
Jackie Barnett, PHR, SHRM-CP is a long-term public employee at the City of Columbia, MO. She has completed 23 years of service and is the HR Manager responsible for payroll support and benefits for over 2000 employees. The City of Columbia has recently engaged LAGERS to do on-site meetings for its employees in order to better inform them on the value of a LAGERS pension. Since pensions are a great tool to attract, but also retain quality employees, the City wants to educate its employees on LAGERS in order to increase retention among City employees. This is her account of their experience.
Tagged Local Government, municipalities, cities, Financial security, Value of pensions, value of local government, Retirement, reitrement
On May 23 LAGERS held our first Facebook LIVE event. Assistant Director Jeff Kempker answered the 5 most common questions we get from members on their LAGERS benefit, then answered your questions live. We had a great discussion about pensions and how they contribute to a secure retirement for many and how LAGERS is leading that effort.
Tagged Facebook, rule of 80, Retirement, Retire, Retirement Options, Retirement Benefits, Retirement, purchasing service, myLAGERS, LAGERS, eligibility, contributory
Defined benefits.
Funding levels.
Investments.
Contributions.
Economic Impact.
Any of this making sense yet?
Tagged Economic Impact, Local Government, Retirement, Retire, Financial security, Value of pensions, Retirement, pensions
My colleague Penny and I recently spent some time in Rolla to honor one of our long-standing members, Rolla Municipal Utilities employee Rosalie Spencer, who was celebrating 50 years with the organization with a lunch reception. Around 70 of Rosalie's friends, family and coworkers present and past were on hand to celebrate her accomplishment. "When I started here, I told them if they hired me I wanted to stay until I retire. And I am." Rosalie plans to retire at the end of April of this year, and because she has stayed for 50 years should be able to replace a sizable amount of her salary with her LAGERS benefit.
Tagged Retirement, Retire, Financial security, Security, secure retirement, Secure, Retirement Security, Retirement Benefits, Retirement, retiree, pensions, LAGERS
“I think ethics is the most exciting topic in the world to talk about,” said no one ever.
I know people who actually cringe when they discover a seminar or conference they will be attending has a session on ethics. Some professions require training in ethics—for example, those of us with a CPA license must obtain a whopping two hours of ethics training per year. (Thank you Enron, Arthur Anderson, etc…)
Tagged Strategy, Goals, secure retirement, Secure, Security, Retirement Security, retirement planning, Retirement, pensions, Members, Getting it Right, Defined Benefit, Defending Pensions, compliance, ethics
When will YOU be able to retire? This is often the first question many of our LAGERS members have for us. Determining when the best time to retire may be for you is a big decision. There are different answers for different types of LAGERS members:
Tagged Financial security, secure retirement, Retirement Security, retirement planning, Retirement Options, Retirement, police, rule of 80, early retirement, retirement age, firefighter, public safety
"Your first year in retirement is a little like starting a new job, only without all the work. But still, it involves establishing a routine, figuring out when your money will come in, building new relationships, and feeling excited about the future. Starting a new job means dealing with a lot of unknowns, and beginning a new chapter in life as big as retirement is no different. Here is what you can expect from LAGERS during your first year."
Tagged Retirement, Retirees, pensions
