On February 28, 2023, the Board of Retirement approved the 2023 Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA). StanCERA bases its COLA increases on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for All Urban Consumers in the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward area. The 2023 COLA for retirees is based on the change in CPI from December 2021 and December 2022. The CPI increased by 4.882% resulting in a 5% total COLA. 3% will be granted and 2% will be deposited into the member’s COLA bank.
Based on Government Code Section 31870.1, retirees, other than members of Tier 3, are limited to 3% COLA increases annually. All retirees, with the exclusion of Tier 3, should receive an increase in benefits by 3%. The remaining 2% will be deposited into COLA banks for future granting (with the exclusion of Tier 3).
Cost of Living Adjustments will be reflected for benefits payable in April 2023, which will be paid on May 1, 2023.
As a reminder, Tier 3 members are not eligible for COLA increases.