Retirees, protect your pension: SERS Annuitant Trustee Election

AFSCME is supporting John Tilden for Annuitant Representative in the upcoming mail-ballot election for the State Employees’ Retirement System Board of Trustees.

Now more than ever, retirees need to preserve their voice and protect their pensions. SERS Trustees play a crucial role in protecting and defending the pensions on which state employees depend for a secure retirement. 

Any retiree who was a SERS annuitant during the month of March, 2016, is eligible to vote. On or around May 1, eligible voters will receive a ballot with a postage-paid return envelope, ballot instructions and candidate biographies.

John Tilden is the only annuitant candidate with a proven track record of retiree advocacy. He served the state of Illinois for nearly 40 years as a counselor and psychologist. Tilden is the president of AFSCME Retiree Sub-chapter 66 (Lake and McHenry Counties) and serves on the AFSCME Retiree Chapter 31 Executive Board.

“I know that politicians mismanaging pension funding has caused the SERS to be underfunded—not retirees who faithfully paid our contribution out of every paycheck,” Tilden said. “As your representative, I will fight for the fiscal security of the pension fund and oppose efforts to reduce our pension benefits.”

The governor, by law, already appoints four seats on the SERS Board—retirees can’t let him have another one. Retired state employees must act decisively in this election or they could lose their voice in the decisions that affect their retirement.

Eligible voters will receive a trustee election ballot in the mail the week of May 1. Retirees are encouraged to vote for John Tilden and promptly mail back their ballot.