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COLA Increase

Retirees: Annual COLA Increase

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A Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) is a permanent annual increase to your pension to help offset the impact of inflation. Eligible NYSLRS retirees will receive a COLA increase beginning with their end-of-September pension payment:

  • Direct deposited on September 30, 2025.
  • Checks mailed on September 29, 2025.

If you are eligible for COLA, you will receive a notice of the change to your net monthly retirement benefit by mail at the end of September. It will show the previous and new monthly amounts for your COLA, your net retirement benefit (the total pension payment amount you receive after credits, deductions and taxes) and any other changes to your credits, deductions or taxes. To determine your monthly COLA increase, subtract the amount listed under ‘Last Month’ from the amount listed under ‘This Month.’

COLA Increase

How COLA is Determined

In accordance with State law, the annual COLA percentage is 50 percent of the rate of inflation at the end of the State fiscal year (March 31), rounded up to the nearest tenth. COLA cannot be less than 1 percent or more than 3 percent annually.

This Year’s COLA Increase

The COLA for September 2025 through August 2026 is 1.2 percent.

The percentage is applied up to the first $18,000 of your annual pension benefit as if you had chosen the Single Life Allowance pension payment option, even if you selected a different option at retirement. Because the Single Life Allowance pays the maximum pension benefit, using this option gives you the highest possible COLA. If your annual pension benefit is $18,000 or more, you will receive the maximum monthly increase of $18 (for a total maximum annual increase of $216) before taxes.

COLA is cumulative, meaning the increase you receive each September is added to your existing monthly COLA amount.

For a breakdown of credits and deductions and to see year-to-date totals throughout the year, you can view your pension pay stub online.

  • Sign in to Retirement Online.
  • Look under I want to… (located at the top right).
  • Click View Pension Check link.
  • Select date of the pension payment to view.

Eligibility

To begin receiving COLA, you must be:

  • Age 62 or older and receiving a service retirement benefit for five or more years; or
  • Age 55 or older and receiving a service retirement benefit for ten or more years (applies to uniformed employees such as police officers, firefighters and correction officers who are covered by a special retirement plan that allows for retirement, regardless of age, after 20 or 25 years); or
  • Receiving a disability retirement benefit for five or more years; or
  • The spouse of a deceased retiree receiving a lifetime benefit under an option elected by the retiree at retirement (you’ll receive half the retiree’s COLA amount); or
  • A beneficiary receiving the accidental death benefit for five or more years on behalf of a deceased Employees’ Retirement System (ERS) member.

Once you’re eligible, you will automatically receive a COLA increase in your monthly pension payment beginning each September.

For More Information

For more information, including an example of how COLA is applied and information about receiving your first COLA, visit our Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) page.

For more upcoming pension payment dates, check our pension payment calendar.