PERAC Memo #6 - 2024: COLA Notice
COLA Notice
View original on mass.gov →Summary
This memo notifies retirement boards of the 2024 Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) available under G.L. c. 32, § 103(c). The Social Security Administration's CPI-W increase was 3.2%, but the maximum COLA a Massachusetts retirement board may grant is capped at 3.0%, effective July 1, 2024. Boards wishing to adopt the COLA must vote to do so in a properly posted public meeting before June 30, 2024, and must report their decision to PERAC through the new PROSPER portal within 30 days.
Full Text
Memorandum Memorandum PERAC Memo #06: COLA Notice Date: 01/09/2024 Referenced Sources: PERAC Website PERAC Memo #06, 2024
To All Retirement Boards:
TO: All Retirement Boards
FROM: John W. Parsons, Esq., Executive Director
RE: COLA Notice
DATE: January 9, 2024
The Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission (PERAC) is providing this notice regarding the COLA Report required by Chapter 17, Section 8(c) of the Acts of 1997.
Under the statute, PERAC reports to the General Court the computation of the increase in the United States Consumer Price Index in the previous year by the Commissioner of Social Security. Any such increase is based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). This index is used annually to adjust benefits paid to Social Security retirees and beneficiaries.
The Social Security Administration has announced that the latest Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) is 3.2%. The COLA which any such system may grant, pursuant to Chapter 32, Section 103(c) and effective July 1, 2024 will thus be 3.0%. This figure reflects the Social Security Administration COLA, with a limitation of 3.0%.
Please be reminded that if a board wishes to adopt a COLA, the board must make this decision in a public meeting, properly posted, and called specifically for such action. This step must be completed before June 30, 2024 so the COLA, if approved can be implemented on July 1, 2024. Notification to the legislative body is not required in circumstances where, as here, the Social Security Administration COLA exceeds 3.0%. However, PERAC encourages the boards to notify the legislative body as a matter of good public policy.
Each Retirement Board deciding whether or not to grant a COLA must notify the Commission of that decision within 30 days. In the coming weeks, we will be releasing a new portal in PROSPER for retirement boards to notify PERAC of both the adoption of annual COLAs as well as COLA base increases. Therefore, the notice for this year’s COLA should be completed in PROSPER.