2024 Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA)
The 2024 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for eligible retirees, beneficiaries and other payees with a retirement date of April 1, 2024 or earlier will be reflected in retirement benefit payments on April 30, 2024:
- Safety retirees and General Tier 1 retirees: 3.0%
- General Tier 2 and Tier 8 retirees (eligible SEIU and CNA service*): 2.0%
COLA increases under Board of Retirement Regulation are automatic under the terms of the Regulation and applicable labor agreement, and require no additional Board approval.
The COLA awarded to Safety retirees and General Tier 1 retirees is based on the year-over-year change (as of December) in the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim region. If the CPI change, after being rounded to the nearest half percent, is more than the 3.0% COLA maximum, the excess will be “banked” and applied to a COLA in a future year when the annual CPI change is less than 3.0%. The regional CPI change from December 2022 to December 2023 was 3.5% (after rounding).
The COLA awarded to eligible General Tier 2 and Tier 8 retirees represented by SEIU or CNA is a fixed 2.0%. This percentage is not subject to CPI changes. For SEIU retirees, this applies to any eligible service rendered on or after March 16, 2003 (for retirements on or after March 13, 2005). For CNA retirees, this applies to any eligible service rendered on or after June 25, 2023.
If you would like to learn more about VCERA’s annual COLAs, click here or contact VCERA