Updated October 30, 2026. Quick answer: The Clerks’ of Court Retirement and Relief Fund of Louisiana has no automatic annual COLA. Its board of trustees decides by majority vote whether to grant one, and the most recent increase in the Fund’s financial report took effect January 1, 2024. A 2027 COLA is not set yet, and the board picks the start date if it grants one.
Who decides and what the 2026 law changed
The state’s 2026 digest of Act 279 describes the change: “Prior law limited the COLA to the lesser of 2.5% or $40 per month. New law increases the maximum COLA to 3% and removes the $40 per month cap.” It adds: “New law specifies that all retirees, beneficiaries, and survivors are eligible to receive COLAs. Requires the funding deposit account (FDA) to be the source of funding.” On timing, it says: “New law provides that the COLA begins on a date as determined by the board of trustees following board approval of the actuarial valuation and subsequent adoption by the Public Retirement Systems’ Actuarial Committee.”
The older law the Fund’s website still prints begins: “The board of trustees may, upon majority vote of the board, grant or provide a cost-of-living adjustment”. The Fund’s retirement manual and that statute page still show the pre-2026 wording, so this page relies on the digest for the new terms.
The funding tests
The digest says: “New law authorizes the Clerks board to grant a COLA in any fiscal year in which the system is at least 100% funded.” On the older limits in the general statutes, the digest says: “Prior law prohibited the governing authority from granting a COLA during any calendar year prior to the final adjournment of the regular session of the legislature.” “New law removes the limitations of prior law for Clerks.” This page therefore does not treat the general R.S. 11:243 limits as binding on the Fund; the text of the Act should be read for any funded-ratio test that applies below 100% funding.
The digest also covers retirees age 65 or older: “New law authorizes the Clerks board to grant a COLA of up to 2% of the current benefit to recipients who are 65 years of age or over funded by money in the FDA.” It says the law took effect this way: “Effective upon signature of governor (May 22, 2026).”
The latest increase
The Fund’s financial report says: “A cost of living adjustment (COLA) was granted effective January 1, 2018, January 1, 2021, and January 1, 2024. There were no other changes in benefits.” It adds: “The most recent COLAs granted were in 2021, and 2024 and were funded through the Funding Deposit Account.” The report gives no percentage for any of the three increases and no board vote date, so this page states none.
Where 2027 stands
The 2027 COLA is not set yet: no source shows the board acting under the new rules, and this page updates when the Board of Trustees of the Clerks’ of Court Retirement and Relief Fund grants one and sets its start date. The newest Fund document read names January 1, 2024 as the most recent COLA, and the digest does not say whether the board has acted under the new rules. A board notice posted elsewhere on the Fund’s website cannot be ruled out.
One thing that is not a board COLA
The Fund’s retirement manual describes a separate choice made at retirement: “any member may elect to receive an actuarially reduced retirement allowance which would provide them an automatic annual two and one-half percent cost-of-living adjustment, subject to a few restrictions detailed below.” The manual calls the election “irrevocable after the effective date of retirement”. That is a member’s own election with a smaller starting benefit, not a COLA the board grants to all retirees.
Common mistakes
- Expecting an increase every year. The Fund has no automatic COLA, and the board must vote on each one.
- Applying the old limits to a new increase. The digest says the new law removes the $40 per month cap, but the Fund’s own pages still print the older wording.
- Assuming a 2027 COLA is coming because the law now allows up to 3%. The law allows it; no source shows the board has granted one.
Related: Louisiana Clerks of Court retirement decisions, how public pension decisions work, and whether Louisiana taxes pensions.
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Answer againSources
- Louisiana Legislature, Act 279 (HB 22) Resume Digest, 2026 Regular Session: legis.la.gov
- Louisiana Legislature, R.S. 11:1549 Cost-of-living adjustments (text as printed on legis.la.gov): legis.la.gov
- Clerks of Court Retirement and Relief Fund (posted by Louisiana Legislative Auditor), Louisiana Clerks of Court Retirement and Relief Fund Financial Report 2025 and 2024: app.lla.la.gov
- Louisiana Clerks of Court Association / Fund, Clerks of Court Retirement Manual: laclerksofcourt.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.