The bill amends Section 36-10-35 of the General Laws to revise the cost of living retirement adjustments for state employees and their beneficiaries. It introduces a new section that provides additional benefits to retired employees, with varying increases based on the retirement date, ranging from 1.5% to 3% per year. The bill specifies different adjustment rates for those who retired before and after certain dates, with a minimum benefit for early retirees and compounded increases for others. It also sets a limit on the cost of living adjustment to the first $35,000 of the retirement allowance, indexed annually, for employees not eligible to retire as of September 30, 2009. The bill includes provisions for adjustments based on the Five-Year Average Investment Return of the retirement system and a one-time benefit adjustment of 2% for members who retired on or before June 30, 2012.

Furthermore, the bill outlines that benefit adjustments will be suspended unless the Funded Ratio of the retirement systems exceeds 80%. It introduces new provisions effective July 1, 2024, granting a 3% monthly allowance increase for all state employees and beneficiaries, excluding judges and state police, with further adjustments based on the CPI-U increase each year. The bill also amends Section 16-16-11 to include survivor’s benefits and expands benefits for teachers, with provisions for their dependents and survivors. The bill does not indicate any deletions from the current law, only insertions of new legal language. The act will take effect immediately upon passage, with provisions also affecting retired teachers.

Statutes affected:
8193: 36-10-35, 16-16-11