Updated October 30, 2026. Quick answer: Kentucky CERS, the County Employees Retirement System, has no automatic COLA: all COLAs must be enacted by the General Assembly. The last retiree COLA, a 1.5% ongoing increase, took effect in July 2011. A 2027 COLA is not set yet.
More on public pension retirement ages and eligibility: the Kentucky KERS and CERS retirement age and eligibility rules by tier.
Who can grant a CERS COLA
The CERS Retiree Handbook says: “All COLAs to KPPA recipients must be enacted by the General Assembly.” The KPPA COLA page adds: “the Kentucky General Assembly (and not the KPPA Board or the Governor) actually holds the authority to grant COLAs under”. Kentucky Revised Statute (KRS) 61.691 and KRS 78.5518 (the KPPA page names both; this page applies KRS 78.5518 to CERS).
What KRS 78.5518 allows
KPPA describes the CERS rule this way: “This law specifies that the General Assembly can authorize a COLA for CERS retired members if the funding ratio for the CERS Nonhazardous or Hazardous pension funds is greater than 100%”. “Or, the General Assembly can direct payment of employer contributions to fully pre-fund the COLA in the year the increase is provided.” The Retiree Handbook puts it in one sentence: “The requirements for providing a COLA stipulate it may only be paid if the funding level in the particular system in which the COLA is being provided is greater than 100% and the COLA payment will not reduce the funding level below 100%, or if the legislature prefunds the COLA.”
The last increase
KPPA states: “The last retiree Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA), or an ongoing retirement payment increase of 1.5% to account for cost-of-living changes, took effect in July 2011.” On the surplus route it says: “The first scenario for granting retiree COLAs does not currently apply to any system.” The sources do not name the act that set the 2011 increase. The text of KRS 78.5518 itself was not read, so the rule here is as KPPA describes it.
Who is left out
This page covers CERS retirees only. KERS and SPRS follow a separate rule, and their pages are separate. KPPA notes that retired members of one system may receive a COLA while another would not.
Where 2027 stands
No 2027 CERS COLA is set yet: only the Kentucky General Assembly can authorize one, and this page updates when KPPA publishes it. The KPPA page read does not print its own publication date, and it shows no COLA authorized for 2027. If you are planning retirement income, treat your CERS benefit as flat in dollars unless the General Assembly acts, and check the KPPA COLA page for any change.
Common mistakes
- Expecting a yearly CERS COLA. The Retiree Handbook says all COLAs to KPPA recipients must be enacted by the General Assembly.
- Assuming a funded status above 100% triggers a COLA by itself. The General Assembly must still authorize it.
- Reading a KERS COLA announcement as a CERS one. The two systems have separate COLA statutes and can differ.
Related: Kentucky CERS retirement decisions, how public pension decisions work, and whether Kentucky taxes pensions.
Find the right next step for your situation
About how much do you have invested? Pick the range that fits; your next step appears immediately below.
Talk to an advisor about retirement income
For U.S. investors with $250,000 or more in investable assets. WiserAdvisor is an independent service matching you with 2 to 3 vetted advisers. Its form asks for your ZIP code and answers to a few questions; a match is not guaranteed.
Free to request, with no obligation to hire. By submitting, you consent to calls, texts and emails from WiserAdvisor and up to three advisers. Advisers pay for introductions.
Clear Money Guide may earn a referral payment for a qualifying completed form. An introduction is not a Clear Money Guide recommendation.
Opens on WiserAdvisor’s site in a new tab.
Explore advisor help with retirement income
Considering financial advice? Request an adviser introduction with no obligation to hire.
The form is run by Kapitalwise, our advisor-matching partner. Requesting an introduction is free. Submitting the form shares your contact details with advisers, so expect calls and texts. Advisers pay for introductions. Clear Money Guide may earn a referral payment for a qualifying submitted form, whether or not you hire anyone. A match is not guaranteed.
The Kapitalwise form opens here; you stay on this page.
What happens when you press the button
It asks about nine questions: age, investable assets, location; then your name, email and phone number, and verifies the phone by text. Nothing loads and nothing reaches Kapitalwise until you press the button.
Prefer flat-fee or hourly pricing instead? Compare ranges here.
Answer againSources
- Kentucky Public Pensions Authority, Retiree Handbook: kyret.ky.gov
- Kentucky Public Pensions Authority, Cost of Living Adjustments (COLAs): www.kyret.ky.gov
- Related official page (not quoted): IRS Tax Topic 410, Pensions and annuities: www.irs.gov
- Related official page (not quoted): IRS Tax Topic 411, Pensions: the General Rule and the Simplified Method: www.irs.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.