Updated October 30, 2026. Quick answer: Indiana PERF and TRF retirees do not receive an automatic annual COLA. INPRS says the General Assembly with the INPRS Board decides whether they get one in any given year. The latest adjustment in the INPRS pages read is a 2026 13th check of $150 to $450 by years of service, paid by October 1, 2026, which is not a permanent increase. No 2027 COLA or 13th check is set.
More on public pension retirement ages and eligibility: the Indiana PERF retirement age and eligibility rules for the Hybrid plan.
How INPRS COLAs are decided
INPRS says: “The Indiana General Assembly with the INPRS Board of Trustees determines whether PERF, TRF, EG&C and LE DB retirees receive a COLA in any given year.” It defines the term: “COLAs (cost of living adjustments) are permanent increases to your monthly pension benefit payment.” It also limits what INPRS can do: “INPRS is only permitted to grant fully funded 13th checks or COLAs as explicitly provided by the General Assembly and retirement fund law.”
The 2026 13th check
INPRS says retirees “were retired or disabled on or before Dec. 1, 2025, and are entitled to receive a monthly benefit on July 1, 2026, are entitled to receive a 13th check no later than Oct. 1, 2026”. The amount depends on years of service: “At least 5 years, but less than 10 years: $150 At least 10 years, but less than 20 years: $275 At least 20 years, but less than 30 years: $375 At least 30 years: $450”.
A 13th check is a one-time payment, not a COLA. INPRS adds: “The General Assembly may or may not grant future 13th Checks (beyond those specifically granted by HEA 1221) or future COLAs.”
Where 2027 stands
No 2027 COLA or 13th check for PERF or TRF retirees is set: the General Assembly decides, and this page updates when INPRS publishes any 2027 action. On the 1% COLA surcharge, INPRS says: “For PERF, TRF ‘96, and EG&C members who retire before July 1, 2025, INPRS was directed to set an actuarial surcharge necessary to grant indexed 13th checks. For PERF, TRF ‘96, and EG&C members who retire on or after July 1, 2025, INPRS was directed to set an actuarial surcharge necessary to grant annual 1% COLAs. In the 2025 legislative session, HEA 1221 modified the effective date for purposes of INPRS’ legislative requirement to set a surcharge to actuarially prefund annual 13th checks for PERF, TRF ’96, and EG&C members who retire before July 1, 2029, and annual 1% COLAs for members of those funds who retire on or after July 1, 2029.” The same INPRS page says future 13th checks or COLAs may or may not be granted.
What this page does not cover
This page covers the Public Employees’ Retirement Fund (PERF) and the Teachers’ Retirement Fund (TRF). The 1977 Police Officers’ and Firefighters’ Fund has its own COLA rules, covered on the Indiana 1977 Fund COLA page. The statute text itself was not read for this page, so the rules above rest on INPRS’s own pages.
Common mistakes
- Treating a 13th check as a COLA. It is paid once and does not raise the monthly benefit.
- Expecting a COLA every year. INPRS says the General Assembly may or may not grant one.
- Applying the PERF and TRF rules to the 1977 Fund, which has its own rules.
Related: Indiana PERF retirement decisions, how public pension decisions work, whether Indiana taxes pensions, and the Indiana 1977 Fund COLA.
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Answer againSources
- INPRS, What are SRAs and COLAs?: www.in.gov
- INPRS, 2026 COLAs and 13th Checks: www.in.gov
- INPRS, 2026 Legislative Updates: www.in.gov
Read from the primary documents linked above on October 30, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer or the IRS itself is the right place to confirm anything consequential.