A cost-of-living adjustment for more than 60,000 of Pennsylvania’s longest-retired teachers and public servants has been signed into law as part of the newly enacted 2026-27 state budget.
The COLA, introduced by state Rep. Steve Malagari, D-Montgomery, as H.B. 411, was included in the Fiscal Code legislation that passed alongside the General Appropriations budget. The adjustment will provide pension increases ranging from 15% to 24.5% for retirees of the Public School Employees’ Retirement System and State Employees’ Retirement System who retired before July 2, 2001.
The affected retirees, often referred to as “pre-Act 9” retirees, have not received a pension increase since 2001, a period exceeding two decades. According to the press release, inflation has cut their buying power by nearly half during this time.
“These are the men and women who shaped our state’s and our children’s futures, and for more than 20 years, they were left trying to get by on pensions that didn’t keep up,” Malagari said. “The last COLA these retirees saw was in 2001. Since then, the cost of medicine, groceries and housing has only gone up. Today, we’ve finally made good on our promise to these public servants in their final years.”
Malagari first introduced the legislation during the 2023-24 session and reintroduced it this session. H.B. 411 passed the state House with bipartisan support, 131-72.
According to prior actuarial estimates, the average PSERS retiree affected by the COLA will see an increase of approximately $250 per month, while SERS retirees will receive about $195 more per month. Most affected retirees are in their 80s and 90s.
“I want to thank the retirees, advocates and organizations who never stopped fighting for this,” Malagari said. “This is their win as much as it is ours.”
