Updated October 30, 2026. Quick answer: Missouri LAGERS may give a cost of living adjustment each year on Oct. 1, at the discretion of its Board of Trustees, based on the CPI and capped at 4% in any year, as LAGERS describes it. The board approved a COLA for 2026 that LAGERS says takes effect on Oct. 1 benefit payments, but LAGERS prints no single percent for it because amounts vary by retirement date. The 2027 COLA is not set yet.
How the LAGERS COLA works
LAGERS says: “LAGERS’ cost of living adjustments (COLAs) may be given each year on Oct. 1 to all eligible retirees.” It lists four features of the adjustments in one line: “Based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) Given at the discretion of the LAGERS’ Board of Trustees annually Cannot exceed 4% in a given year Cumulative”. On the cap, it adds: “In no event will anyone receive greater than a 4% increase in a one-year period as Missouri state law caps annual COLAs at 4%.” This page relies on LAGERS’s description of that cap and does not quote the Missouri statute itself.
Who qualifies and who does not
To get a first adjustment, “you must be retired for a full 12 consecutive months, including an Oct. 1.” LAGERS gives an example: “if you retired on Nov. 1, 2020, you would not receive your first adjustment until Oct. 1, 2022.”
An increase is not guaranteed in any year. LAGERS says: “While LAGERS Board of Trustees strives to ensure the system will be financially able to grant an increase each year, the board is not required by law to do so.” It also explains that “in years of deflation, instead of decreasing benefits, the board awards no change.” The LAGERS pages describe eligibility by retirement date and do not break out differences between individual employers, so your LAGERS statement shows what applies to you.
The 2026 COLA
The July 17, 2026 LAGERS news item reports: “At their June 12 quarterly meeting, the board approved a resolution authorizing a COLA for eligible retirees in 2026.” It adds: “Retirees will see adjustments take effect on their Oct. 1 benefit payments.” It explains that “Individual adjustment amounts will vary depending on each retiree’s effective retirement date and past COLA adjustments.” LAGERS prints no single percent for the 2026 COLA, so this page does not state one.
For the year before, the LAGERS retiree resource says: “Cost of living adjustments ranging from 3% to 4% were granted to retirees and beneficiaries retired for more than 12 months as of Oct. 1, 2025.” LAGERS also says that “LAGERS will continue granting adjustments each year until retirees reach 100% of the purchasing power of their original benefit.”
Where 2027 stands
The 2027 LAGERS COLA is not set yet: the Board of Trustees decides each year whether to grant one, and this page updates when LAGERS announces the board’s 2027 decision. If the board grants one, the LAGERS pages put the adjustment on Oct. 1 benefit payments.
Common mistakes
- Expecting a COLA every year. LAGERS says the board is not required by law to grant one, and in deflation years it awards no change.
- Counting only from the retirement date. LAGERS requires a full 12 consecutive months of retirement that includes an Oct. 1.
- Expecting the same percent as another retiree. LAGERS says amounts vary with the effective retirement date and past COLAs, and no one gets more than 4% in one year.
Related: Missouri LAGERS retirement decisions, how public pension decisions work, and whether Missouri taxes pensions.
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Answer againSources
- Missouri LAGERS, Cost of Living Adjustments: www.molagers.org
- Missouri LAGERS, Board Approves Cost-of-Living Adjustment for Retirees: www.molagers.org
- Missouri LAGERS, 2026 Winter Spring Retiree Resource: www.molagers.org
- 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.