Eligible Benefit Recipients to Get 2% COLA Starting January 2025

On October 28, 2024, the PSRS/PEERS Board of Trustees approved a 2% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for eligible benefit recipients, effective January 1, 2025.

How the COLA Is Decided

The COLA increase follows the Board’s policy, which is based on the rise in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers (CPI-U) as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. For fiscal year 2024 (July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024), the CPI-U increased by 2.9714%. According to the policy, when the CPI-U increase is between 2% and 5%, a 2% COLA is provided.

Annual Actuarial Review

PwC US, the Systems’ actuary, performs a comprehensive review of the Systems’ financial status each year and presents the findings to the Board at the October meeting. This review helps the Board assess the financial health of the Systems and informs their decisions.

A History of Helping Retirees Maintain Purchasing Power 

The Board is committed to maintaining the financial health and strong funding status of the Systems. At the same time, they are dedicated to doing so while also providing stable and secure benefits and working to ensure our retirees maintain purchasing power during tough economic times.

Historically, effective plan management and a supportive Board of Trustees have allowed PSRS/PEERS to provide COLAs to our benefit recipients during times of high inflation. COLAs have been granted each of the last five years, with two of those years being a 5% COLA, the highest the Systems are allowed to provide by law.

Depending on individual COLA eligibility, our benefit recipients may have received up to a 16% benefit increase over the past five years.

“I’m proud that the Board of Trustees along with the PSRS/PEERS administrative team work together to support a policy has enabled us to provide a 16% raise for our retirees over the last five years,” stated Beth Knes, PSRS/PEERS Board Chair.