Fraternal Order of Police Pennsylvania
State Lodge|
|
Fraternal Order of Police Pennsylvania
State Lodge |
|
COLA Calculation Examples and Worksheets
President' s Message....August 2001
As President of the Fraternal Order
of Police, Pennsylvania State Lodge, I am honored to be pictured on the front
cover of our Law Enforcement Journal (August 2001) with our friend in Law
Enforcement, Representative John M. Perzel.
Representative Perzel, as you may know, is Majority Leader in the House of
Representatives. As such, he was the key factor in having this critically
important Legislation for our Police passed unanimously in the Pennsylvania
House of Representatives. The passage of these Bills, which help support the
needs of both our Active and Retired Police Officers, is certainly a giant step
in the F.O.P.'s efforts to ultimately get these same Bills passed in the Senate
and, eventually, on to the Governor's desk to be signed into Law.
Prior to going any further, I would like to take this opportunity to pay a deep debt of gratitude to all our Lawmakers, who recognized the needs of our Police by unanimously voting favorably on the Legislation.
A special thanks
goes to:
REPRESENTATIVE SAMUEL H. SMITH, who introduced HB 1360, HB 1361, HB 1362
and HB 1363.
REPRESENTATIVE STEVEN R. NICKOL, who had the arduous task of researching
the Bills financially.
REPRESENTATIVE DENNIS M. O'BRIEN, who originally got the "ball rolling,"
by introducing COLA Legislation.
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN B. HERMAN, who reported the Bills favorably out of
his Committee.
REPRESENTATIVES GEORGE T. KENNEY and MARK S. McNAUGHTON, who
successfully guided the Bills out of their Committee.
STATE FOP LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE, FRED ENGLE, Chairman, JOHN WARD,
and SHERYL PIERCE.
In addition, our acknowledgment also goes to the many Representatives, who at the request of the F.O.P., unselfishly withdrew their Amendments to our Bills which, thereby, prevented further delay and ensured passage of the Legislation in the House of Representatives.
Last but not least, our gratitude is extended to MAJORITY LEADER JOHN M. PERZEL who, I believe, since attending our Awards Ceremony at our 2000 Biennial Conference, developed a renewed sense of understanding and appreciation towards Law Enforcement.
At this Ceremony, the Representative witnessed first-hand the acts of Valor, Bravery and Heroism that our Police perform on a daily basis. The Representative not only recognized the many dangers that confront Police, but he also looked into the faces of the widows and family members whose husbands were either seriously injured or killed in the line-of-duty. He shared their pain and felt our pride.
Representative Perzel in his address to the participants at the Conference, praised the dedication and courage of our Police. He stated that he would never forget their service, nor their sacrifice. The Representative pledged to not only support Law Enforcement, but also assist in the issues and needs that affect Law Enforcement.
To that end, he fulfilled his pledge by delivering to Law Enforcement a Legislative package containing five (5) key pieces of Police Legislation. Representative Perzel, through his actions, has clearly committed himself to our cause. His support has not only earned our respect, but our friendship. Thank you Representative John Perzel!
The following is an overview of the Legislation which was PASSED by the PENNSYLVANIA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES in an historical UNANIMOUS VOTE:
SPECIAL AD HOC
MUNICIPAL POLICE POST RETIREMENT ADJUSTMENT HB 1360 - Introduced by
Representative Samuel H. Smith
This Bill would grant a Special Ad Hoc Cost-of-Living Adjustment to Municipal
Police Officers that Retired prior to January 1, 1996. While other COLA Bills
remained dormant, because of the extreme costs associated with the Legislation,
HB 1360 found more favor with the Assembly, as it maintained an overall cost
that the State found acceptable and, also provided for an offset for locally
provided cost-of-living benefits made to a member between the last Ad Hoc COLA
in 1988, and the effective date of this Act which would be January 1, 2001.
In continuing, this Bill properly focuses on providing the greatest increase to those with the greatest need. The proposal is based upon a formula using total years of service and years on retirement, thereby awarding the greatest benefit to those receiving the least.
HB 1360, recognizes those that Retired long ago, had the lowest wages upon which their Pensions were calculated, and are in the greatest need of an increase.
In an effort to ensure a better understanding of the financial benefits HB 1360 would provide to the Retiree, examples as to how the benefit is calculated, along with COLA calculation worksheets are included available by clinking the following link:
COLA Calculation Examples and Worksheets
Once again, the Fraternal Order of Police Pennsylvania State Lodge is requesting ALL F.O.P. members, both Active and Retired, along with their families, to help in getting this Legislation, in its entirety, passed in the SENATE. Contributions to our Political Action Committee (PAC) are a must. The time is now. Help us help you by getting this Legislation to Governor Ridge's desk. The Legislation cannot and will not pass without your involvement. DON'T DELAY...DO IT TODAY.
Fraternally yours,
MICHAEL
G. LUTZ, PRESIDENT