PERSI’s 2024 increase of just 1.3% got a small group of retirees talking. What happened to covering inflation? The stock market was doing well, and yet inflation was eating away at our monthly benefit.

It was a loosely knit group, probably like many others around the state, where people talk over coffee. Those retirees included: Chris Rich, David High, Michele (Sherrer) Chadwick, Bob Cooper, Lynn Anderson, and Lance Nickerson.

They thought something was wrong. In June 2025, they formed the Retired Public Employees of Idaho (RPEI). The RPEI is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(4) corporation dedicated to protecting the retirement security of PERSI retirees. The RPEI was created to provide a unified voice for the more than 56,000 retired PERSI members and current PERSI employees so that their needs are well represented before the Idaho Legislature and PERSI Board.