Timmons bill increasing retiree benefits signed into law

House Bill 1985, sponsored by 42nd legislative district state representative Joe Timmons, which offers a three percent cost-of-living increase for retired state employees and teachers, was signed into law.

The bill passed unanimously through the state house on February 6 and unanimously through the senate on February 28. Governor Jay Inslee signed the law March 26.

Public employees and teacher pension plans, unlike other state pensions, have not included cost-of-living adjustments since 2011, when a benefit known as the Uniform COLA was repealed. That plan included three percent annual increases between 1995 to 2011, and those pension programs only received four increases in the 13 years since repeal.

The bill would allow for an increase of up to $110 a month for the state’s retired teachers and public employees.

“Our seniors deserve to age with the respect they deserve. HB 1985 builds upon a theme I started in my first year in Olympia to help older adults fare better in times of rising costs and high inflation,” Timmons wrote in a statement.

In 2023, Timmons co-sponsored HB 1431, which stopped charging sales tax on prepared meals for tenants at senior living communities.

Timmons continued, “HB 1985 builds upon this work by supporting our seniors with a COLA to their retirement money they have come to rely on to live with grace and dignity.”