This bill amends Section 36-10-35 of the General Laws to provide additional benefits to retired state employees and beneficiaries. It establishes a cost of living retirement adjustment for state employees and beneficiaries who retired on or before December 31, 1967, and for those who retired on or after January 1, 1968. The adjustment will be added to the retirement allowance each year in January, with a three percent increase for the year beginning January 1, 1971, and each year thereafter through December 31, 1980. The bill also includes provisions for the cost of living adjustment for state employees and beneficiaries who have completed at least ten years of contributory service on or before July 1, 2005, and for those who receive a disability retirement allowance. The adjustment will be computed and paid at a rate of three percent of the original retirement allowance, compounded annually from the year the adjustment was determined to be payable. The bill also includes provisions for the cost of living adjustment for state employees and beneficiaries who have not completed at least ten years of contributory service on or before July 1, 2005, or were not eligible to retire as of September 30, 2009. The adjustment will be computed by multiplying the retirement allowance by three percent or the percentage of increase in the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U), whichever is less. The adjustment will be compounded annually from the year it was determined payable by the retirement board, but no adjustment will cause any retirement allowance to be decreased from the amount provided before the adjustment. The bill also includes provisions for the cost of living adjustment for state employees not eligible to retire as of September 30, 2009, and their beneficiaries. The adjustment will only apply to the first thirty-five thousand dollars of retirement allowance, indexed annually, and will commence on the third anniversary of retirement or when the retiree reaches age sixty-five, whichever is later. The thirty-five thousand dollar limit will increase annually by the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U) or three percent, whichever is less. The bill also includes provisions for the cost of living adjustment for legislators and their beneficiaries who are receiving a retirement allowance for three or more years. The adjustment will be equal to three percent of the original retirement allowance and will be increased by an additional three percent each year in January, compounded annually, for the lifetime of the legislator or beneficiary. The bill also includes provisions for the annual benefit adjustment for all present and former employees, active and retired members, and beneficiaries receiving any retirement, disability, or death allowance or benefit. The adjustment will be determined based on the Five-Year Average Investment Return of the retirement system and will be equal to the percentage determined by subtracting five and a half percent from the investment return. This adjustment will be effective for the period July 1, 2012, through June 30, 2015.

Additionally, this bill would provide a one-time stipend of $500 to retired members and beneficiaries of members who retired on or before January 1, 2023. The stipend would be paid within 60 days of the effective date of the bill and again one year later. This stipend would not be considered a cost of living adjustment. The bill would take effect upon passage.

Statutes affected:
6117: 36-10-35