Updated October 30, 2026. Quick answer: The IPERS pages read describe no COLA for regular members who retired after June 30, 1990. A November dividend is guaranteed under Iowa Code section 97B.49F(1) only for members who retired June 30, 1990 or earlier and their beneficiaries and contingent annuitants. Protection Occupations members who retire on or after July 1, 2026 are eligible for a 1.5% annual compounding COLA if they are at least 55 with at least 22 years of eligible service. The IPERS pages read print no November 2025 or 2026 dividend amount, and no 2027 figure is published.
More on public pension retirement ages and eligibility: the Iowa IPERS retirement age, Rule of 88 and eligibility rules.
Estimate an Iowa IPERS Regular member pension from service, age and final average covered wage: Iowa IPERS retirement calculator.
The November dividend
IPERS says: “A November dividend is guaranteed under Iowa Code section 97B.49F(1) for members who retired June 30, 1990, or earlier.” The Iowa Code sets the formula: “The dividend payable in any given year shall be the sum of the dollar amount of the dividend payable in the previous November and the dividend adjustment.” “In no event shall the dividend payable be less than twenty-five dollars.” The adjustment is the least of the 12-month CPI increase to June 30, an amount the actuary certifies the fund can absorb, and three percent.
The Favorable Experience Dividend is exhausted
For members who retired after June 30, 1990 and before March 1, 2013, IPERS states: “The final FED payments were made in January 2014, exhausting the FED account. By law, IPERS cannot transfer additional funds into the FED account until the Trust Fund is fully funded.”
The 1.5% COLA for public safety groups
The IPERS COLA page says: “Protection Occupations Members who retire on or after July 1, 2026 are eligible for a 1.5% annual compounding cost-of-living adjustment.” To qualify, a member must: “Be at least 55 years of age before they end their employment, Have at least 22 years of eligible service, and Retire as a member of either the Protection Occupations or Sheriffs/Deputy Sheriffs groups.”
IPERS’s dividends page words the Sheriffs and Deputy Sheriffs rule differently: “Sheriffs/Deputy Sheriffs members who retire on or after July 1, 2024, may annually receive a 1.5% cost-of-living (COLA) adjustment.” It also says: “You are at least 50 years old when you end employment as a Sheriff/Deputy Sheriff.” “You have at least 22 years of eligible service.” “Sheriffs/Deputy Sheriffs members who retire with special service disability benefits are not eligible for the COLA.” The two IPERS pages differ on the start date and age, so check IPERS for your own case.
Where 2027 stands
No 2027 IPERS dividend amount is published in the pages read, and this page updates when IPERS posts one.
Common mistakes
- Expecting a dividend if you retired after June 30, 1990. The guarantee covers members who retired June 30, 1990 or earlier.
- Treating the 1.5% COLA as an increase for existing retirees. IPERS describes it for Protection Occupations members who retire on or after July 1, 2026 and, on its dividends page, for Sheriffs and Deputy Sheriffs who retire on or after July 1, 2024.
- Assuming a Favorable Experience Dividend is coming. IPERS says that account is exhausted and cannot be refilled until the Trust Fund is fully funded.
Related: Iowa IPERS retirement decisions, how public pension decisions work, and whether Iowa taxes pensions.
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Answer againSources
- IPERS, Dividends: ipers.org
- Iowa Legislature, Iowa Code 2026 section 97B.49F Retirement dividends: www.legis.iowa.gov
- IPERS, Cost-of-Living Adjustments for Protection Occupations Members: ipers.org
- Related official page (not quoted): Iowa Code chapter 97B, Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System: www.legis.iowa.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.