COLA rates established for 2025
A cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is an annual adjustment applied to your retirement income to reflect changes in the economy (inflation). Most DRS retirement plans offer a COLA, but Plan 1 members in PERS and TRS only have a COLA if they selected it during retirement.
View the 2025 COLA percentages by retirement date and plan.
When will I receive the 2025 COLA?
LEOFF Plan 1 COLAs take effect April 1 and start with April 30 benefit payments.
All other DRS Plan COLAs take effect July 1 and start with July 31 benefit payments.
You need to be retired by July 1 for at least one year to be eligible for a COLA. Once you’re eligible, you’ll receive any COLA starting with the pension payment issued at the end of July, and every year after. You don’t need to apply to receive the COLA – it’s automatic.
How much will the COLA be?
The maximum annual COLA you can receive for most DRS plans is 3%. If inflation that year is above 3%, the additional amount is applied to future adjustments (called COLA banking). Any year inflation is lower than 3%, the COLA can pull from banked amounts in prior years.
This happens automatically and the adjustment is made for you. You could receive a different adjustment each year, depending on the amount available in your COLA bank.
Will PERS 1 and TRS 1 receive a benefit increase?
If the legislature changes the current law, most of these retirees could receive a one-time increase in July. There are several bills that could affect this decision. You can track all bills here.
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The 2025 Legislative session begins Jan. 13, 2025. We’re tracking retirement-related topics in the table below.
