We are your advocate with the legislature, and the PER Board. We strive to bring existing benefits up to date, lower costs to retirees, keep our membership informed about issues that affect our lives and our pensions.

• We hire a professional lobbyist to represent us in the legislature.
• Many of our Board Members and members at large attend legislative committee and legislative sessions lobbying for (and against) legislation which affects retirees.
• We have a member on the Public Employees Retirement Board.
• Members of our Board monitor the Board of Investments to watch the investing of retirement monies.

Lobbying

Good, professional lobbying help is expensive, but it is essential in order to get anything through the legislature. We spend between $10,000 & $25,000 for lobbying during regular sessions, and during special sessions we find it necessary to have our lobbyist monitoring legislation in case our benefits should be in jeopardy.

Yes, that is a lot of money, but it was money well spent when you consider the increases that have been received. The money we spent went only to professional lobbyists. Several of AMRPE's Board Members also help with our lobbying efforts, but none of us receive any pay.

We also have our Telephone Tree, which is made up of members all over the state who call their legislators and lobby for our legislation It was extremely successful during the 1997 session when we were able to pass our first GABA.

This was the first guaranteed annual pension benefit increase in the history of the PERS in over 50 years.