Heading for the Light

Prior to her death (and before I knew she was sick) Martha Sartain helped persuade me to rewrite my "Lipscomb" calculator to compute the outcome if PERS were to be forced to implement the Sartain decision from the Supreme Court's ruling in Strunk. Under the Sartain decision, PERS is obligated to restore the COLA on the fixed benefit retroactive to July 1, 2003. PERS has not implemented this ruling and has tried to avoid it by throwing up a fog based on the "Settlement Agreement". Until the recent Arken and Robinson rulings in Multnomah County Circuit Court, there seemed no likelihood of the Sartain ruling ever being implemented and there was no incentive for me to offer people a false hope. But the calculus has changed and I now believe there is *some* hope that we might finally get justice (not quickly mind you, but justice nonetheless). In anticipation, I thought it would be fruitful for retirees to examine their situation under the "Settlement" (or Lipscomb) outcome, and also under the "Sartain" decision. For those who have fallen under PERS' BS about the benefit cuts being small, the outcome under the newest calculator will be truly eye-popping. PERS' baloney only smells good if you never believed you were entitled to something else - what your retirement contract actually calls for. Now you will be able to see the light and hopefully shed your indifference and apathy regarding what you truly are entitled to.

Windows users can go here for the program. Mac users will find their version at this location. The Mac version is a "universal" binary that will run under OS X 10.4.5 and higher and should run on older Macs with the PPC chip, while also running on the newer Intel-based Macs. Good luck with your calculations and let the light shine in corners it has never shone in before.