The TEXPERS Blog

TEXPERS members spend day at 

Capitol advocating for secure retirement

Staff Report

A Texas House aide reads a resolution honoring
TEXPERS for its 30th anniversary. 

Thirty-five Texas Association of Public Employee Retirement Systems members met with legislators to discuss the benefits of providing secure retirements for public employees such as firefighters, police officers, and municipal workers during the association's Capitol visit day Jan. 23 in Austin. 

TEXPERS members discussed the economic benefits defined-benefit pensions provide local and state economies and shared personal accounts of why they value having the secure retirement benefits. During the Capitol visit, the state House and Senate passed resolutions recognizing TEXPERS for its 30 years of educational and legislative advocacy for the pension plans relied on by cities, counties and special districts for their public employees. You can read news release about the resolutions here.

The trip to the Capitol was part of a two-day program hosted by TEXPERS that also included a workshop held the day before to teach TEXPERS members to communicate effectively with public officials. Joe Gagen, an Austin attorney and grassroots advocacy expert, lead the workshop. Nearly 50 people, including TEXPERS members and staff, attended the training session to better understand the public policy making process and learn to communicate pension fund issues more effectively with legislators.

In addition to gaining new communication skills, TEXPERS’ legislative team discussed current issues facing defined benefit pensions in the state. TEXPERS gave workshop attendees talking points that could be used during the Capitol visits on day two of the program.

After the workshop on day one of the association’s Austin legislative advocacy trip, 11 legislators or their staff joined TEXPERS for a reception. TEXPERS thanks everyone who attended, spoke, and volunteered their time for the two-day event, titled “Strategies for the 86^th Legislative Session: Communicate Effectively with Legislators.”

For those who missed the event, photos are available for viewing on TEXPERS’ Facebook page. Click here to view the photo album. A video of a reading of a resolution honoring TEXPERS for its 30^th anniversary can be found here.