THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO DONATED
Since our founding in 1968, the Association has prided itself in being politically active and engaged on the topics of direct importance to retired public employees. As such, the Retired Public Employees Political Action Committee (PAC) is the political arm of Mass Retirees.
Each year the Association conducts two fundraising drives for the PAC, in in early spring and the other in early fall. Members are asked to make a voluntary contribution to support the activities of the PAC. In addition to being used to support candidates for public office within Massachusetts who stand with public retirees, the PAC is also tapped to fund membership engagement and outreach. Facilitating our Area Meetings is one example.
Coming off the victory that was the passage of the Social Security Fairness Act and on the eve of our fight to improve COLA benefits and defend the right to high-quality and affordable health insurance, participation in this year’s PAC drive was particularly strong.
“The repeal of Social Security WEP/GPO is proof of what can be accomplished when retirees join together to focus on a common interest. Despite the recent success of the Fairness Act, public retirees remain under serious threat. This is especially true when it comes to your health insurance benefits,” said Association Chief Executive Officer Shawn Duhamel, who also serves as PAC Treasurer. “Heading into 2026 and beyond, there are two main immediate challenges. Implementing improvements to the COLA are hard due to the cost. At the same time, retiree health insurance is under threat due to rapidly rising healthcare costs. These benefits cannot be taken away entirely, but plan design can change and cost shifting onto retirees can take place.
“Having a strong membership and a well-funded PAC help to give us the resources required to do this important work. Those working against us are also well-organized and very well-funded. The generosity of our members gives us a fighting chance to prevail on your behalf.”