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From YouTube: Committee on Ways & Means on June 24, 2021
Description
Docket #0725 - Message and order approving an increase of the cost-of-living adjustment (“COLA”) base from $14,000.00 to $15,000.00 for all retirees and beneficiaries of the Boston Retirement System
A
A
C
A
A
A
A
D
Thank
you
so
much
again,
my
name
is
timothy
smith.
I'm
the
executive
officer
here
with
the
boston
retirement
system.
Just
by
way
of
background,
I'd
like
to
point
out
that
the
cost
of
living
adjustment
will
cola
and
cola
base
are
two
distinct
functions.
The
caller
is
a
percentage
in
the
call
of
base
as
a
multiplier.
D
D
D
as
to
the
financial
health
of
the
system.
I'd
note
that,
as
of
1
1
2020,
which
was
our
last
actuarial
evaluation,
our
actuarial
value
of
assets
exceeded
5.7
billion
dollars.
This
does
not
include
approximately
1.6
billion
invested
with
prim
that
covers
boston
school
teachers.
A
funded
ratio
on
an
actuarial
basis
was
75.6
percent.
D
Our
current
year-to-date
investment
return
stands
at
7.2
percent
net
of
fees.
Our
investment
return
for
calendar
year.
2020
was
11.9
percent
net
of
fees
in
a
little
background
on
on
our
membership
as
of
1120,
the
average
age
of
our
retiree,
and
there
were
six
thousand
hundred
and
380
is
73.9
years
old
and
the
average
monthly
benefit
is
3227.
D
D
These
figures
exclude
school
teachers
who
are
liability
of
the
commonwealth
to
illustrate
our
monthly
obligations.
I've
note
that
our
may
2021
pension
payroll
was
issued
to
over
15
300
payees,
with
a
payout
of
approximately
57
million
dollars.
Additionally,
the
system
issued
refunds
on
behalf
of
50
members
totaling
over
1.4
million
dollars.
That
was
all
just
in
the
month
of
may
2021
back
to
the
cola
base.
D
D
A
Thank
you.
Thank
you
tim.
Can
you
send
all
of
those
numbers.
I
will
just
say
that
in
general,
when
we're
talking
about
fiscal
things
and
numbers,
I
really
like
for
the
committee
to
have
things
formally
submitted
like
that
in
writing,
just
because
it's
hard
for
counselors
to
track
absolutely
all
those
details,
as
you
speak
sure,
so
if
you
could
get
those
to
chantal
and
over
to
us,
that
would
be
great
so
just
in
in.
Let
me
let
me
just
try.
A
I
want
to
make
sure
that
I
understand
this
in
plain
language
for
folks
and
then
I'll
pass
it
over
to
colleagues
so
cost
of
living
adjustment.
Is
it's
an
acknowledgement
within
our
pension
system
that
people's
costs
go
up
right
and
so
that
we're
trying
to
we're
trying
to
support
our
long-term
retirees
as
kind
of
they
deal
with?
A
A
What
that
means
is
that
cola
adjustments,
most
sort
of
the
impact
of
them
are
felt
the
most
by
people
with
comparatively
smaller
pensions,
at
least
proportionately,
because
if
I've
got
a
if
I've,
if
I've
just
got
a
fifteen
thousand
dollar
or
let's
say
right
now
I
have
a
fourteen
thousand
dollar
pension
from
us.
We
I
get
the
cola
on
the
whole
thing,
but
if
I've
got
a
100
000
pension
from
us,
I
get
the
cola
just
on
the
first
14
000..
A
A
D
D
D
A
Okay,
yeah,
maybe
I'll,
also
try
to
find.
I
I
think
when
I
had
dug
into
it
a
month
or
two
ago
I
had
found
something
with
the
18
000
number
and
so
I'll
try
to
find
what
that
was.
But
I
think
there
may
be
some
some
regulatory
documents
sitting
out
there
on
one
of
the
state
websites
that
has
that
number
in
it
and
whether
that's
accurate
or
past
or
not.
A
D
A
So
that's
part
of
the
push
pull
here,
and
can
you
therefore
tim?
Can
you
describe
a
little
bit
more
with
this,
with
this
thousand
dollar
increase
that
the
that
the
board
is
recommending
that
we
vote
for,
but
how
much?
How
much
does
that
add
this
year
to
the
pension
costs?
How
much
does
it
add
in
the
overall
unfunded
liability
and
how
much
does
that
push
our
does
our
does
that
push
our
projected
final
funding
date
out
to.
D
It
won't
it
as
of
today,
it's
not
going
to
touch
our
fully
funded
date.
Okay,
I
do
have
what
they
call
a
schedule
which
was
attached
to
the
cost
memo
which
has
all
that
detail,
but
I
can
tell
you
in
2022
the
appropriations
from
the
city
increased
5.6
million,
and
then
it
goes
upwards
to
7.6
million
in
2027
goes
up
in
increments
each
year
got
it,
and
can
I
just
point,
make
one
comment
as
well.
D
A
E
A
But
what
you're
saying
is,
of
course,
there's
also
cost
to
the
bha
and
the
commonwealth
and
the
bpda
and
such
and
those
are
in
addition,
but
they're
going
to
be
paid
off
of
their
books
right,
correct,
got
it
and
and
our
pension
funding
date
did
it
with
the
pandemic.
Did
it
go
from
2025
to
27,
I'm
trying
to
remember
what
the
we.
D
Did
it
we
actually
did
it
last
year,
so
I
don't,
it
wasn't
really
a
pandemic
decision.
I
think
we
we
were
well.
I
shouldn't
say
that
it
was
consider
that
was
against
ultimate
consideration,
because
we
didn't
know
where
the
market
was
going
to
go.
We
had
a
lot
of
there
were
a
lot
of
concerns
to
have
to
go
back
to
my
minutes,
to
see
exactly
the
rationale,
but
that
my
memory
is
that.
A
A
F
A
And
then
last
question
for
me
and
then
I'll
go
to
colleagues.
Can
you
speak
to
like
what
roughly-
and
this
is
more
of
a
scale
sense
than
a
specific
but
like
what,
when
you
think
about
the
folks
who
are
in
the
boston
retirement
system,
what
proportion
of
them
are
kind
of
at
these,
like
the
the
smaller
pensions
that
are
closer
to
the
kind
of
cola
total,
like
limit
total
that
we're
talking
about
here
versus
because
to
me
there's
sort
of
a
distinction?
A
Obviously,
people
get
different
scales
of
pensions
depending
on
what
their
salaries
were
at
the
city
or
related
agencies,
but
there's
folks
who
are
getting
a
kind
of
like
what
we
would
think
of
as
a
sort
of
full
pension,
that's
sort
of
comparable
or
at
80
or
whatever
of
what
they
were
making
and
then
there's
and
then
there's
folks
who
have
these
more
partial
things.
And
I
know
those
are
a
number
of
folks
that
we
heard
from
about
hardship.
D
Yeah,
if
the
counselor
wishes,
I
can
actually
run
a
query
and
get
those
right
down
to
the
penny
off
the
top
of
my
head.
I
don't
have
the
numbers
available,
but
I
can
do
a
query
and
get
all
that
you
know
the
range
some
anybody
who's
got
a
benefit
say
from
0
to
10,
11
to
20
or
whatever
you
think
is
helpful.
We
can
do.
D
I
just
want
to
add
some
of
those
lower
benefits.
Those
may
be
cases
where
people
either
have
very
few
years
of
service.
They
have
part-time
service.
Obviously
their
salary
wasn't
as
high
that
those
things
kind
of
come
into
play
as
well.
So
you
could
have
a
10-year
person
person
that
was
a
crossing
guard,
so
they
were
working.
D
A
D
A
Got
it
great
well,
thank
you
tim
and
thank
you
this.
You
know.
I
think
I
think
it's
a
really
important
job
for
us
as
the
council
to
balance
the
you
know,
the
the
fiscal
health
of
the
city
and
making
sure
that
you
know
when
we,
when
we
vote
on
things,
we're
signing
up
for
things
that
we
can
fund
and
the
you
know
the
needs
of
our
retirees
and
our
low-income
retirees
and
and
the
recognition
that
costs
do
increase
over
time.
C
C
C
I
know
from
talking
with
retired
teachers,
many
of
them,
especially
the
female
female
teachers
who
maybe
took
breaks
in
service
to
take
care
of
children
or
elders
at
some
stage
in
their
career
they're,
finding
that
that
is
having
a
pretty
devastating
effect
on
their
retirement
at
this.
At
this
point,
when
they're
much
older-
I
I
don't
know
in
terms
of
numbers,
do
we
have
any?
We
have
any
sort
of
sense
of
what
kind
of
numbers
are
we
talking
about
in
that
in
different
cohorts?
D
C
C
D
Right,
I
I
think
I
can't
speak
for
the
city,
but
I
think
the
logic
would
be
that
it
increases
the
cost
exponentially
and
we
are
trying
to
get
to
that
fully
funded
date
as
soon
as
possible.
Council
park
had
mentioned
earlier
about
opec.
That's
obviously
another
another
issue
that
that
will
rear
its
ugly
head
sooner
or
later,
but
I
think
that
was
the
wish
going
back
several
cfos
that
the
retirement
system
be
fully
funded.
Then
they
kind
of
turn
the
turn
their
can
into
its
op-ed.
D
C
G
Thank
you,
madam
chairman,
good
morning
to
everyone.
Thank
you
to
jimmy
and
poor
quran.
Here
I
would
like
to
express
my
false,
enthusiastic
support
for
this
cost
of
living
adjustment
from
14
000
to
15.
in
advance
of
the
may
19th
boston
retirement
board
vote.
I
wrote
a
letter
of
support
and
provided
testimony
expressing
my
full
support
for
even
an
even
greater
increase
in
the
current
cost
of
living
adjustment.
G
So
this,
hopefully,
will
will
go
a
long
way
in
helping
relieve
a
little
bit
of
that
pressure.
So
the
affordable
update
to
the
to
the
annual
caller
calculation
is
of
paramount
importance
to
to
me
but
more
important
to
these
retirees
than
the
many
advocates
who
reached
out
on
their
behalf.
So
again,
thanks
to
to
tim
and
to
pork
and
madam
chair,
just
please
put
me
in
the
enthusiastically
support
this
cost
of
morning
adjustment.
Thank
you
for
your
time.
A
Thank
you,
counselor
flaherty,
and
I
will
just
note
for
folks
that
you
know,
in
addition
to
this
authorizing
thing,
we
are
going
to
need
the
additional
5.6
million
dollar
allocation.
That's
in
the
resubmitted
budget,
to
make
this
a
reality,
so
just
flagging
that,
for
folks,
next
up
is
councillor
campbell
and
also
on
the
order
for
counselors
councillor
campbell.
H
Thank
you,
council
bach
and
tim.
Thank
you
and
your
team
for
your
hard
work,
particularly
of
course,
during
covent.
I
also
sent
in
a
letter
of
support
and
appreciated
your
breakdown
at
the
beginning
of
this
hearing,
and
will
look
for
some
follow-up
numbers
but
echo
what
my
colleagues
have
said.
You
know.
Obviously
our
city
employees
worked
really
hard.
It's
been
a
difficult
time
for
everyone,
so
really
appreciate
your
hard
work
and
I'll
keep
it
short
and
sweet.
H
F
Thank
you,
madam
chair,
and
I
would
like
to
echo
the
comments
of
my
colleagues.
I
am
also
in
full
support.
I
do
believe
you
know.
I
always
talk
about
the
fact
that
my
mom
is
in
her
70s
and
too
poor
to
retire,
and
I
understand
how
important
this
issue
is
for
those
who
have
dedicated
their
entire
lives
and
in
service,
and
so
we've
been
on
the
record
in
full
in
full
support
and
look
forward
to
moving
the
conversation
along.
Thank
you.
I
I'll,
certainly
review
the
file
later
this
afternoon
to
hear
the
testimony
from
from
tim,
but
I
just
wanted
to
say
on
the
record
that
we
have
an
exceptional
team
that
tim
works
with
at
the
retirement
board,
they're
professional,
they're,
hard-working,
and
they
know
this
system
as
well
as
anyone
so
very
honest
and
ethical
people.
So
I
want
to
say
thank
you
to
tim
and
his
team
that
do
tremendous
work,
making
sure
that
our
retirees
are
treated
with
respect
and
dignity.
Like
council
clarity
mentioned,
I
also
support
a
koa
increase.
I
I
also
was
on
record
and
filed,
sent
a
letter
of
support
as
well
our
retirees,
whether
the
city
city,
retirees
or
state
retirees
they're,
our
neighbors,
our
they're,
our
little
league
coaches,
they're
active
in
the
veterans
community.
They
help
after
school,
with
our
kids
but
they're
part
of
our
community
and
I'm
so
proud
of
the
city
and
state
retirees
that
play
a
tremendous
role
in
our
communities,
and
I
support
this.
Not
a
hundred
percent.
I
supported
200.
I
J
Thank
you,
ma'am
chair
and
thank
you
tim
and
colleagues
on
this
call
this
morning
I
am,
you
know,
will
echo
the
sentiments
of
colleagues
and
support
equal
increase
and,
although
I've
tuned
in
late,
I
because
I've
tuned
in
late.
I
won't
say
much
more
than
that.
Thank
you,
tim
thank
you.
Counselor
bach,.
A
Great,
thank
you.
Counselor
sabi,
george,
all
right,
any
other
counselors
have
further
further
questions
or
comments,
because
I
know
we've
got
several
members
of
the
public
or
here
testify
and
the
boston
municipal
research
bureau.
We
we
will
look
for
those
that
those
numbers,
both
the
tranches,
tim
and
just
kind
of
a
written
version
of
some
of
the
summary
that
you
gave
and
again
just
obviously
just
stressing
for
counselors
that
this
is
something
where
you
know
where
we
do
this
increase.
A
D
A
A
A
E
Okay,
I'm
jamie
frank:
I
am
a
member
of
the
boston
teachers,
union,
retired
teachers,
chapter
legislative
committee,
I've
also
resided
in
boston,
all
74
years
of
my
life,
and
I
just
and
a
shout
out
to
you
chairman,
chairperson
bach
and
committee
members
and
mr
smith,
and
just
before
I
start
my
testimony.
I
want
you
to
know.
I
have
the
breakdown
on
all
of
those
numbers
that
you
asked
for,
mr
smith.
I
can't
see
why
you
need
to
do
another
query.
E
I'd
be
happy
to
email
them
to
you,
okay
time,
for
my
testimony,
I
have
emailed
each
of
the
counselors
and
provided
them
with
documentation.
I
think
they
will
find
helpful
in
understanding
the
issues
related
to
raising
the
cola
base
and
informing
them.
In
anticipation
of
the
june
30th
vote,
all
of
the
various
retirees
in
the
boston
retirement
system
served
this
city.
Well,
each
of
you
knows
many
of
them.
Personally,
they
were
your
teachers,
firefighters,
police
officers,
school
staff,
workers
in
your
own
city,
hall
offices,
clerical
workers,
and
the
list
goes
on.
E
They
are
the
people
who
built
this
city
and
upon
whom
you
and
we
depended.
They
deserve
dignity,
respect
and
fairness.
So
let
me
remind
you
of
a
few
important
data.
There
are
just
over
twelve
thousand
five
hundred
boston
retirees.
The
average
pension
is
forty
five
thousand
eight
hundred
seventy
six
dollars.
Sadly,
approximately
one-third
of
our
retirees
receive
less
than
30
000
dollars
a
year.
E
This
is
largely
in
part
due
to
a
myriad
of
efforts
of
our
committee
that
we've
pursued
we've
offered
a
proposal
to
restructure
the
way
in
which
the
cola
base
is
determined
and
have
invited
the
city
to
do
the
same.
Yet
we
still
await
an
actuarial
study
of
our
proposal.
We
invite
members
of
this
committee
to
join
us
in
continuing
that
pursuit
in
summation.
The
board
has
always
denied
a
fair
increase
because
of
a
fully
funding
date,
which
in
2020,
was
moved
forward
from
2025
to
2027..
E
The
city
can
afford
to
join
the
16
or
more
surrounding
communities
with
kohler
bases
above
15
000.
They
continuously
state
their
concerns
about
the
cost
of
actuarial
studies,
to
determine
the
impact
of
increasing
the
kohler
base.
Granting
an
increase
to
18
000
would
save
them.
Those
costs
now
is
the
hour.
It
is
time
for
a
fair
cola.
A
K
It
would
also
be
particularly
helpful
if
you
would
raise
the
cola
base
from
fourteen
to
eighteen
thousand
dollars
immediately,
bearing
in
mind
the
upending
of
our
lives,
as
we
know
them,
which
the
pandemic
has
wrought
upon
all
of
us,
it
would
be,
in
my
opinion,
it
is
a
year
when
the
raising
of
the
cola
base
and
the
granting
of
the
three
percent
cola
are
both
especially
urgent.
I
hope
you
agree.
A
L
L
As
you
know,
the
income
of
many
of
our
city
retirees
is
low
and
given
the
increase
in
real
estate,
taxes,
rents,
foods
and
services,
this
request
is
far
below
the
request.
Original
quest
was
18
000,
but
I'm
still
wishing
and
hoping
that
that
would
come
about.
However,
this
is
an
increase
and
it
looks
like
you're
going
to
go
with
the
15..
L
It
is
small.
Jamie
frank
gave
you
a
breakdown
and
the
need
for
the
cola
base
increase.
So
my
need
to
repeat
that
information
would
be
fruitless.
I
have
written
to
the
city
council
members
prior
to
the
retirement
board
meeting
in
may
and
again
yesterday.
It
is
hope,
my
hope
that
you
honor
this
request
and
the
hope
regrets
of
18
000,
but
I
know
it
doesn't
look
like
it's
going
in
that
direction,
please
to
give
consideration
for
this
increase.
Thank
you.
M
M
As
tim
mentioned
earlier,
this
would
be
5.6
million
dollars
for
fiscal
year.
2022.,
the
city
of
boston
and
the
boston
retirement
system
were
on
schedule
to
reach
full
funding
of
the
unfunded
pension
liability
by
2025
four
years
from
now.
However,
last
spring,
as
mentioned
earlier,
the
city
extended
the
funding
schedule
to
2026
out
of
concern
for
the
uncertainty
around
the
pandemic's
impact
on
the
markets
and
thus
the
city
finances.
M
M
M
The
federal
financial
support
through
president
biden's
american
rescue
plan
must
be
used
by
december
2024
and
hopefully
well
before.
Then,
we
will
have
a
much
better
understanding
of
the
extent
of
the
city's
recovery
versus
the
extent
of
long-term
negative
impacts
on
the
city
finances
and
the
boston
communities
needs
due
to
the
pandemic.
M
The
proposed
cola
base
increase
the
impact
on
the
city's
pension
liability,
particularly
at
this
difficult
time
must
be
considered
in
conjunction
with
the
pandemic
and
the
impact
on
the
economy.
The
city's
ability
to
address
financial
demands
of
departmental
services,
the
challenges
faced
by
boston
community
and
the
looming
cost
of
the
retiree
health
insurance,
health
insurance
liability
known
as
opec.
A
A
All
right
seeing
none,
I
think
I'll
just
I
think
I'll.
Just
thank
everybody
again.
Thank
tim
for
coming.
Thank
everybody
who
testified
appreciate
again.
You
know,
I
think
the
the
testimony
from
the
retired
teachers
in
btu
and
the
testimony
from
the
municipal
research
bureau
attest
to
the
kind
of
balancing
act
that
we
always
have
to
do
with
these
decisions,
and
and
that's
our
responsibility
as
counselors
is
to
take
the
human
element
into
consideration.