By Noah Zahn
Wyoming Tribune Eagle
Via- Wyoming News Exchange

CHEYENNE — For nearly two decades, Wyoming’s public retirees have not received a cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA. Now, lawmakers are considering a change after stakeholders have continued to express concern.

The Joint Appropriations Committee met Friday to discuss the issue. Currently, the state’s pension investment performance is doing well, but thousands of retirees have seen their purchasing power eroded by 18 years of stagnant benefits, according to testimony.

The discussion, part of the committee’s interim study on the Wyoming Retirement System, balanced a tension between state laws and the lived experience of 38,000 retirees who have not received a COLA since 2008.

Polly Scott, a senior fiscal analyst for the Legislative Service Office, briefed the JAC on the history of Wyoming’s pension reforms. Following the 2008 financial crisis, the Legislature moved to protect the system’s long-term health by stripping the WRS board of its authority to award COLAs and requiring that plans be 100% funded before any adjustment could be considered.

The result has been a widening gap between fixed pension checks and a rising cost of living.

“Since our last COLA was awarded … the Wyoming cost-of-living index has increased 67.5%,” Scott said. She noted that under current law, the actuary cannot even recommend a COLA unless the plan is projected to remain at 100% funding for the life of the increase.

Despite the restrictive statutes, WRS Executive Director David Swindell and WRS Board Chairman Jeremy Smith shared news of success. Driven by a 17.81% market return in 2025, the system’s investment performance has surged to the top of its peer set.

“We’re number one, Mr. Chairman,” Smith told the committee. “Not number two, not number three … we’re number one.”

This performance has pushed two of the state’s smaller plans, the Judicial Plan and the “Fire B” plan, over the 100% funding threshold. Smith indicated the board would likely recommend COLAs for those specific plans later this year, though he acknowledged that the massive Public Employee Plan, which covers 90% of members, remains at roughly 82.8% funding and is not projected to hit the 100% mark until 2044.

However, this success has created a new challenge: retaining the staff responsible for it. Swindell compared his investment team to football coaches, warning that Wyoming’s statutory salary caps are causing a talent drain to states like Colorado.

“It’s been a struggle to track and retain people,” added WRS Chief Investment Officer Sam Masoudi, adding that one senior analyst recently left for a 50% to 100% pay bump elsewhere.

During public testimony, John Emmerich, a retiree from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, described how inflation has turned comfortable retirements into a “tough” struggle.

“The average retirement pay is $22,000 a year. That’s $1,900 a month,” Emmerich said, noting that basic monthly bills for a modest home now average $2,500.

Vicki Swenson, a retired educator with 32 years of experience, told lawmakers she has lost 40% of her buying power.

“I can’t afford to add a mortgage now to my budget … and I also have not been able to make the home improvements … to my 45-year-old home,” Swenson said. “… No Wyoming pension increase for 18 years is simply unacceptable.”

Tom Lacock of AARP Wyoming urged the committee to view COLAs as “financial stability,” not extra spending.

“COLAs are not bonuses,” Lacock said. “They are a mechanism to maintain purchasing power … When retirees are asked to pay 2026 bills using 2007 dollars, financial pressure is inevitable.”

The cost to fully fund all WRS plans that are under 100% would be around $2.1 billion, Swindell said. To avoid this price tag, some considered alternate options.

The Wyoming Coalition for a Healthy Retirement presented a new proposed framework. Kevin Reddy, WCHR chairman and a Cheyenne firefighter, proposed that when WRS investment returns exceed the system’s 6.8% actuarial assumption, a portion of that should be shared with retirees.

Under his plan, if the fund earns a 7.8% return, retirees in plans funded between 80% and 100% would receive a 13th check as a one-time, non-compounding payment. Only plans over 100% funded would receive permanent, compounding COLAs.

“The math just doesn’t math” to give permanent raises from underfunded plans, Reddy said, but he argued that a one-time check provides some relief. Rep. Ken Pendergraft, R-Sheridan, said the idea was interesting.

The JAC will continue to refine these models over the summer, with the potential for draft legislation for the 2027 general session. As the meeting concluded, Senate Co-Chairman Sen. Tim Salazar, R-Riverton, reassured the gathered retirees that the topic is now a formal priority.

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