The bill amends Section 36-10-35 of the General Laws to adjust the cost of living retirement benefits for state employees and their beneficiaries. It introduces a 1.5% annual increase for those who retired on or before December 31, 1967, with a minimum of $200 per year for those who retired before January 1, 1958. For retirements between January 1, 1971, and December 31, 1980, the increase is 3% per year. For those who retired after January 1, 1968, the bill provides a 3% increase starting on the first January after the third anniversary of retirement, with subsequent annual increases through December 31, 1980. From January 1, 1981, the increase is 3% compounded annually for those with at least ten years of service by July 1, 2005, or eligible to retire by September 30, 2009; for others, it is the lesser of 3% or the Consumer Price Index increase. The bill caps the adjustment to the first $35,000 of the retirement allowance for employees not eligible to retire by September 30, 2009, and includes additional provisions for legislators and beneficiaries, as well as a new subsection (g) for calculating annual benefit adjustments based on investment returns.

Additionally, the bill provides a one-time stipend of $500 to members or beneficiaries who retired on or before January 1, 2023, to be paid within 60 days following the effective date of the subsection, and a second stipend of $500 to be paid in the same month of the following year. These stipends are separate from the cost of living adjustments. The bill specifies that these changes will take effect upon passage, and the insertions in the bill text indicate the new legal language that will be added to the current law to implement these stipends.

Statutes affected:
6117: 36-10-35