Advocacy
Nowhere is Strength Through Membership more evident than in RGEA’s advocacy for North Carolina’s retired public servants. As one of the largest state-level associations for retired government employees in the nation, RGEA leverages the strength of its membership to lobby for the best interests of governmental retirees in North Carolina.
RGEA is one of the largest associations of retired government employees in the United States and is the primary voice and committed advocate for North Carolina’s retired public servants. Currently, RGEA advocates for the following:

2025 Proposed Advocacy Goals

  1. Advocate for annual cost of living adjustments for all state and local government retirees.
  2. Strengthen and protect the state’s defined benefit plan to attract and retain the best and brightest public servants.
  3. Defend public sector benefits so all public sector retirees can participate in traditional retirement systems.
  4. Ensure the State of North Carolina will continue to fulfill its constitutional and legal requirements to fully fund North Carolina Retirement Systems and the State Health Plan.
  5. Expand the Bailey tax exemption for state and local retirees and pursue other tax exemption opportunities for government retirees.

RGEA Advocacy Agenda

Our RGEA Advocacy agenda is created every biennium and reviewed annually by our Board of Directors and our Government Relations Committee prior to the start of the General Assembly’s long session. Long sessions occur in odd-numbered years and short sessions in subsequent even-numbered years.

Because the lobbying goals of the association trend around similar issues: healthcare, pension sustainability, cost of living adjustments for retirees, among others – our advocacy priorities and goals do not often fluctuate in subject, but in subject matter. In more recent years, achieving progress toward our advocacy goals has become more complex due to the changing political tides and conflicts that make them increasingly more difficult to accomplish.

RGEA Lobbying Efforts

RGEA has a team of four registered, contracted lobbyists who are always represented at the General Assembly. When the Legislature is in session, we attend House and Senate committees, track bills relevant to our agenda, mission, and strategic goals, and meet with legislators and staff to promote RGEA’s agenda. Cultivating relationships with legislators, legislative staff, “sister” groups and government agencies, including the Office of the State Treasurer, is of utmost importance for the lobbying team.

Our lobbying team is also prepared to speak to support or oppose legislation of positive or negative consequence for RGEA members.

Ways to Stay Informed

Government Relations Updates and Alerts

When the legislature is in session, your RGEA staff compiles and shares this information through email updates, this website, our YouTube channel and other social media posts, and calls to action. We keep this information up to date to keep you informed. The goal is to provide you with the most current information so you are able to make an informative decision as to how to approach legislators to show your support or opposition on an upcoming issue.

End-of-Session Summary

At the close of each legislative session, your RGEA lobbying team will provide a synopsis of the decisions made during that session. Additionally, our team will analyze trends in pension issues, cost of living adjustments and other fiduciary matters of importance to our association members.

Contact with Local and Legislative Members

Through our website, we provide the tools to help you contact your legislators. By calling, writing letters, or sending emails, contacting your legislators is crucial to our mission and goals at RGEA. We provide helpful tips and outlines, as well as sample letters to help you advocate for the issues in which you believe. You are always welcome to contact RGEA regarding any thoughts or issues you may have or if you have questions, comments, or concerns.

Our Government Relations team is the lobbying arm of RGEA. Our lobbyists team and Government Relations Committee are responsible for carrying out the advocacy goals and agenda as created and adopted by the RGEA Board of Directors.

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The Government Relations Committee

The Association is composed of members of our Board of Directors who are appointed by the President. This Committee is responsible for reviewing proposed legislation, recommending advocacy goals for the Association to the Executive Committee, and working with representatives of the retirement systems and the General Assembly to improve legislation to retired local and state governmental employees.

Legislative News & Updates

CLICK TO WATCH! YouTube video channel for RGEA legislative updates

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