Mayors Support Retirees
Tuesday, March 4th, 2008The mayors of Oak Ridge and Roane and Anderson Counties sent a letter to U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, asking for his help in getting better benefits for CORRE retirees.
Oak Ridge mayor Tom Beehan; Rex Lynch, Anderson County mayor; and Mike Farmer, mayor of Roane County jointly wrote and signed the letter.
In part it said:
"Contractor employees in Oak ridge have had for many years an inferior retirement plan when compared to others within the Department of Energy complex. It is our understanding that many retirees have now lost over 50 percent of the value of their pension benefits and are seeking an equitable adjustment. In particular, the retirees are requesting: (a) pension adjustments for all retirees that restore 75 percent of buying power lost due to inflation, (b) the same 2 percent flat-rate spousal option offered to employees retiring after June 2004 and (c) that the DOE contractors regularly review and adjust pension values for all retirees in the future in order to prevent a recurrence of the present situation. These are fair and reasonable requests that could be funded by the assets of the Pension Trust Fund.
"Our concern is for the welfare of the nearly 12,000 retirees from DOE contractors living in East Tennessee, particularly the 5,350 constituents who reside in the two counties of Anderson and Roane."
