For a husband and wife (family of two) the current qualifications for food stamps are a monthly gross income of $1,760. The average teacher who retired in 1987 had a gross monthly pension income of $1,742*. Without a Cost-of-Living-Adjustment (COLA), if this teacher and his wife were to live 30 years, they would now qualify for food stamps. But, because they had a COLA, for most of their years, their monthly income is now $3,311*. This puts it into perspective how scary it is for teachers to lose their COLA. Legislatively, STRS never has to provide retired teachers a COLA. That wasn't so in the past. When you are older every year becomes very significant, every COLA is vital for financial health. Without a COLA, retired teachers have very little hope looking forward when they think about their financial future. Keep spreading the petition, restoreourcola.com by posting it. Consider coming to the STRS Board Meeting on June 21. Arrive before 10:00 and wear a black top. * this information was provided by STRS, CostOfLivingComparison30orMore.pdf