COLUMBUS (WCMH) — The Ohio Public Employee Retirement System (OPERS) is asking the state legislature for a two year freeze on cost of living adjustments (COLA) for retiree benefits. The proposed freeze would affect benefits in 2022 and 2023.

OPERS becomes just the latest public employee pension fund to target cost of living increases.

About two dozen retired teachers showed up with signs at Thursday’s meeting of the Board of Trustees of the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS). They were protesting the freeze on COLA increases that went into effect in 2017.

Sheryl Weber who retired after 38 years as a teacher in Cambridge City Schools, argued that STRS investment staff should have to feel the pinch as well. “The people who work here are getting bonuses, they’re getting cost of living adjustments and that’s not fair,” Weber said.

STRS spokesman Nick Treneff says that in the wake of the great recession, the retirement system had to make adjustments including lowering investment return expectations. He said indefinitely suspending the COLA saves about $1 billion a year.

“We understand that dealing without a COLA is difficult,” Treneff said. “But it was necessary for the ongoing sustainability of the fund and to restore the fiscal integrity of the fund.”

Treneff said restoring the COLA benefit will depend on investment returns, retirement rates and mortality among other factors. He said there are close to 200 retired teachers in Ohio who are 100 years old or older.  “We have negative cash flow,” Treneff said. “We have about $3 billion dollars that come in in contributions each year. We pay out about $7 billion each year in benefits.”

But retiree Mike Mulcahy from Cincinnati says retirees say they have cash flow problems as well compounded by the absence of that two or three percent COLA. “When you’re in a $50,000 retirement system, that affects you pretty quickly,” Mulcahy said. “The usual thing is in 10 years prices double so in essence 10 years of no COLA, you’re spending power is cut in half.”