Quotes from the AJC:

Those declines could help make it easier for state officials to defend withholding retirees’ cost-of-living raises next year.

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State officials said Thursday that as of earlier this week, the value of the teacher retirement fund had dropped from $50.3 billion on June 30 — the end of the last fiscal year — to $41.6 billion. The value of the employees retirement fund had fallen from $15.2 billion to $12.5 billion in that time.

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The Georgia losses come at a time when the Teachers Retirement System Board is considering a proposal by Gov. Sonny Perdue’s administration to eliminate automatic cost-of-living increases that have been given since 1969.

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Retired educators are irate over the proposed change. They have flooded Ezell’s office, and the offices of TRS board members, with emails and letters protesting the proposal.