Missouri Public School and Education Employee Retirement Systems, Jefferson City, will increase its cost-of-living adjustment to 5% from 2% to eligible participants beginning Jan. 1.
The board of the retirement systems, which have combined assets of $56.8 billion, approved the new COLA at its Oct. 25 meeting, confirmed Dearld Snider, executive director, in an email.
The board approved the new adjustment due to Missouri state law and PSRS/PEERS funding policy that says a 5% COLA must be granted when the consumer price index for urban consumers rises above 5%, an announcement on the retirement systems’ website said.
For the systems' fiscal year ended June 30, the total increase in the CPI-U was just under 5.4%, according to the announcement.
"The COLA policy is designed to ensure that our retirees receive an adequate COLA in years when the cost of living increases," said Jason Steliga, chairman of the board of trustees, in a statement. "We are confident that the policy is working as intended, to help us ensure we make sound decisions that are in the best financial interest of all our members."
The current COLA is based on the systems' policy of a 2% COLA when the CPI-U exceeds 2% or is below 5%.
