New COLA, Hazardous Duty Supplement Effective July 1
Eligible retirees will receive a cost-of-living adjustment to their benefit amount, effective July 1 and payable in the August 1 benefit.
- Plan 1: 2.95%
- Plan 2 and Hybrid Retirement Plan: 2.48%
The COLA is based on the annual monthly average of the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers, published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and is updated each July 1. During years of no inflation or deflation, the COLA will be 0%.
If you retired under the Basic Benefit or Advance Pension Option, the COLA calculation is based on your Basic Benefit amount. If you retired under the Basic Benefit with the Partial Lump-Sum Option Payment, Survivor Option or Survivor Option with the PLOP, the COLA calculation is based on your reduced benefit amount.
Hazardous Duty Supplement
The hazardous duty supplement will increase to $1,488 per month ($17,856 annually) on July 1 for eligible retirees. The benefit payment issued August 1 will reflect the new amount.
The supplement is a dollar amount added to the monthly retirement benefit for eligible members. It begins at retirement and continues until normal retirement age under Social Security. You qualify for the supplement once you are credited with at least 20 years of eligible hazardous duty service.
For eligible VaLORS members, the supplement ends at age 65. However, you are not eligible for the supplement if you retired from a VaLORS position with the 2% multiplier.
The Code of Virginia requires the supplement to be reviewed every two years and increased by any applicable cost-of-living adjustments published by the Social Security Administration since the last applicable increase.
