THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Monday, February 10, 1997             TAG: 9702080006
SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A8   EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Letter 
                                            LENGTH:   24 lines

RETIREES DESERVING

The General Assembly money committees are scheduled to submit a final proposal as to how to disburse the surplus of $250 million (MetroNews, Jan. 27). Many delegates and senators have submitted proposals for obtaining their piece of this pie.

I propose the money committees and the governor, who accepted tax money from military and civil-service retirees, now have a moral and financial obligation to refund those monies in full.

Several years back, the state pleaded poverty, saying it would go broke if forced to pay back funds collected as taxes from retirees. Since being directed to refund those monies, the state has paid some retirees.

Others, who believed the sad tale of Richmond, agreed to approximately a 70 percent refund. The latter group has received very little of the 70 percent to date. Those retirees were victims of the old shell game.

LLOYD G. KEEFE

Virginia Beach, Jan. 28, 1997