San Antonio – Patsy Esterline retired as an educator in 2018 but could never really afford to stop working.
“It’s just, it’s life and expenses happen and we’re not even getting into the doctors and all that because, let me tell you, growing old is not for sissies,” she said, talking about unexpected costs.
She’s one of many retired educators who are trying to get the vote out for Proposition 9, which will appear on the November 2023 ballot.
She’s sure that people want to support retired educators, but she fears voter turnout will be a factor.
“We’ve got to get people out to vote,” she said.
In the last legislative session, lawmakers partially approved a cost-of-living increase for retired educators. The second part has to be approved by voters.
Their pensions are funded by working educators who contribute to the Teacher Retirement System of Texas. The system has not had a cost-of-living adjustment in 20 years.
The one-time COLA would apply to those who retired before September 2020 and would see an increase of 2% to 6%.
The last day to register to vote is October 10th and early voting starts October 23rd. Election Day is November 7th.