The PEIA Finance Board met today in Charleston to discuss the feedback from the PEIA public hearings and vote on the Fiscal Plan for 2026.
The plan adopted at the Finance Board meeting was the same one that had been discussed at the public hearings, except for two amendments approved by the Board. The first amendment removed the proposal to collapse the salary tiers from 10 to 5. This was a positive step, advocated for by the unions during the public hearings, as the tier collapse would have financially hurt our lowest-earning employees the hardest. The second amendment removed increased charges from the retiree assistance program to help retirees who are struggling financially. The plan changes are scheduled to take effect for the fiscal year that starts July 2025.
“The Finance Board approved their proposed plan today, and while there were a few small positive changes, overall, it’s still a plan that is financially devastating for many education and public employees. In fairness, the Finance Board didn’t have many options today to make the proposed plan better; the solution to this issue lies solely in the hands of our legislature, which coincidentally is meeting for interims beginning this Sunday. We need all education and public employees to call legislators during the December 8-10 interim session and ask them to make stabilizing PEIA and providing affordable healthcare a priority. If we want the legislature to address PEIA, we need to make our voices heard,” explained AFT-WV President Kristie Skidmore.