District 38 member Margaret Reader and District 9 Chairman Jamie Robinson, both retirees, were featured this week in a News & Observer article on the need for real cost-of-living adjustments for retirees.

The story focuses on the plight of the more than 252,000 retirees who rely on the pension system and continue to fall behind the rising cost of living every year due to a lack of adjustments.

SEANC Executive Director Ardis Watkins told the story's author that retirees have been overlooked for years.

"Retirees built, provided the infrastructure that made North Carolina No. 1 in business, and yet they know they've been left behind and forgotten," Watkins said.

She said that creates a problem with retaining current state employees, who see better benefits in the private sector. Watkins would like to see a change in how retirement benefits are calculated to increase payments.