About RI Chapter 94 Retirees
We are public-sector retirees affiliated with AFSCME's national retiree program, a labor partner of RI Council 94, and a founding member of the RI Public Employees Retiree Coalition (RIPERC).
Who We Are
RI Chapter 94 is a chartered member of RIPERC, a founding member of AFSCME's National Retiree Council, and an active participant in the Providence Central Labor Council. We believe active and retired workers share one goal: protecting retirement security.
Member Health and Safety
Chapter 94 members are eligible to receive discounted rates for dental, vision, hearing, and legal services, plus continue their participation in AFSCME Advantage and Union Plus. We hosted workshops with Legacy Benefit Advisors on Medicare and Social Security, memory screenings with Butler Hospital (post-strike), oral health education, and a retiree scam-awareness presentation by local law enforcement.
Legislative
Working with grassroots and professional lobbyists, RI Chapter 94 fought to restore full COLAs for all retirees. When the Governor proposed skipping the legally required $20M supplemental pension payment, we were the first to publicly oppose it (covered by WPRI Channel 12). Alongside Council 94, NEA, AFT, LIUNA, and RIPERC, we stopped it cold; the proposal was cut from the 2026 state budget. We remain committed to restoring COLAs for all retirees by supporting H7351 and changing the pension calculation formula for workers who retired after July 2009 (H7500).
Legal
In local communities, we worked to restore retiree spousal health care and police and fire disability benefits in West Warwick. We won health care buybacks for Newport retirees.
Other Post Employment Benefits
We continued to monitor OPEB (retiree healthcare) funding. OPEBs may sound like budget jargon, but they jeopardize our health care when communities promise retiree health benefits without setting aside funds to pay for them.