Your benefit is adjusted on July 1 of each year to reflect the change in the cost of living published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

• If you have 25+ years of service (or a Service-Connected Disability Pension), your COLA is applied to your benefit on July 1 following the effective date of your pension.
• If you have <25 years of service, your COLA is applied on July 1 following the date on which you would have had 25 years of service.
• If you have a Nonservice-Connected Disability Pension, your COLA is applied on July 1 following the date on which you had (or would have had) 25 years of service, or the fifth anniversary of the effective date of your pension, whichever is earlier.

• In the event of an active member’s service-connected death, the COLA is applied to the qualified survivor’s benefit on July 1 following the effective date of the qualified survivor’s pension.
• In the event of an active member’s nonservice-connected death while eligible for a service pension, the COLA is applied on July 1 following the date the member had (or would have had) 26 years of service, or the fifth anniversary of the qualified survivor’s pension, whichever is earlier.
• In the event of a retired member’s death, the COLA is applied on July 1 following the date on which you had (or would have had) 26 years of service, or the fifth anniversary of your pension, whichever is earlier.