Updated October 30, 2026. Quick answer: The District Attorneys’ Retirement System of Louisiana has no automatic COLA: its board of trustees decides case by case, and the last increase took effect July 1, 2022. The system’s actuary says the board qualifies to grant another, but no source records a grant. A 2027 COLA is not set yet.
What the board is allowed to do
R.S. 11:1638 says the board “is authorized to use interest earnings on investments of the system in excess of normal requirements, as determined by the actuary, to provide a cost-of-living increase in benefits”. for retirees and surviving beneficiaries retired at least one year, “in an amount not to exceed the lesser of three percent of the original benefit, or in the case of a beneficiary, that fraction of the original benefit specified in the optional allowance selected or sixty dollars per month.”
A second statute adds a supplement. The system’s actuary describes it this way: “R.S. 11:246 Provides supplemental cost-of-living increases to retirees and beneficiaries over the age of 65 equal to 2% of the benefit in payment on October 1, 1977, or the date the benefit was originally received if retirement commenced after that date.” “Applies to those retired for at least one year. May only be granted if the system’s earnings exceed those which would be realized based on the valuation interest rate as applied to the actuarial value of assets in sufficient amount to offset the present value of the increase or by funding the lifetime cost of the increase through a withdrawal from the Funding Deposit Account balance.” The plan summary notes that cost of living adjustments are not payable based on the BACK-DROP account or a lump sum benefit.
No pattern, no index
The actuary writes: “Although the board of trustees has authority to grant ad hoc Cost of Living Increases (COLAs) under limited circumstances, these COLAs have not been shown to have a historical pattern,” “the amounts of the COLAs have not been set relative to a defined cost-of-living or inflation index, and there has been no evidence to conclude that COLAs will be granted on a predictable basis in the future.”
Funding tests and timing
The statute that applies to this system and its Louisiana peers says: “The system has a funded ratio of ninety percent or more and has not granted a benefit increase to retirees, survivors, and beneficiaries in the most recent fiscal year.” It also says: “No governing authority to which this Section applies shall provide a cost-of-living adjustment or permanent benefit increase to any retiree, beneficiary, or survivor during any calendar year prior to the final adjournment of the regular session of the legislature or do so during the same year within which the legislature has granted an increase, unless in the legislation granting the increase, the legislature specifically authorizes the governing body to provide an additional increase to retirees, beneficiaries, and survivors of that system. The restrictions contained in this Subsection shall be inapplicable with respect to any system for which the legislature has failed to grant an increase.”
The actuary’s valuation concludes: “Because the system’s funded ratio for COLA purposes exceeds 90% and the last COLA was granted effective July 1, 2022, the Board of Trustees qualifies under R.S. 11:243(G) to provide a cost-of-living adjustment.” Qualifying is not the same as granting.
The latest increase
The valuation’s history table lists: “July 1, 2022 COLA paying 3% of the original benefit of those retired at least 1 year, plus a supplemental cost-of-living increase of 2% of the original benefit for those at least the age of 65.” The sources do not give the date of the board vote for that increase.
Where 2027 stands
The 2027 COLA is not set yet: no source shows a board vote on one, and this page updates when the District Attorneys’ Retirement System Board of Trustees grants one. The board’s September 3, 2026 and October 29, 2026 agendas list an item called COLA Legislation. The October agenda reads: “10. Director’s Report a. COLA Legislation (15 min) b. Director Performance Review (10 min)”. The agendas do not say what that item covers, and they show no COLA vote.
Common mistakes
- Treating the 3% and 2% in the statute as a yearly raise. The 3% is a ceiling (the statute also caps the dollar amount at sixty dollars per month) and the 2% is a supplement for those over 65; the board has to vote and meet the funding tests each time.
- Reading the actuary’s finding that the board qualifies as a decision. The valuation records no grant after July 1, 2022.
- Assuming the agenda item called COLA Legislation means a 2027 increase. The agendas do not describe it.
Related: Louisiana District Attorneys retirement decisions, how public pension decisions work, and whether Louisiana taxes pensions.
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Answer againSources
- Louisiana Legislature, R.S. 11:1638 Cost-of-living increase of benefits: legis.la.gov
- District Attorneys’ Retirement System (Curran Actuarial Consulting), District Attorneys’ Retirement System Actuarial Valuation June 30, 2025: ladars.org
- Louisiana Legislature, R.S. 11:243 Cost-of-living adjustments; funding criteria: legis.la.gov
- District Attorneys’ Retirement System, Board of Trustees Agenda, October 29, 2026: ladars.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.