Updated October 30, 2026. Quick answer: The Montana Municipal Police Officers’ Retirement System (MPORS) pays a Guaranteed Annual Benefit Adjustment (GABA) of 3% on January 1 of each year, fixed in section 19-9-1009 of the Montana Code. The benefit must have begun at least 12 months earlier, and the member must have become active on or after July 1, 1997 or filed the election. Members hired before that date who did not elect GABA get a minimum benefit adjustment instead. The January 2027 GABA is fixed by statute.
The statute
Section 19-9-1009 says: “on January 1 of each year, the permanent monthly benefit payable during the preceding January to each recipient who is eligible under subsection (3) must be increased by 3%.” On the waiting period: “the benefit’s commencement date is at least 12 months prior to January 1 of the year in which the adjustment is to be made”. Other increases can zero it. Where a recipient’s benefit has been increased by adjustments not provided for in this section and the increases amount to more than a 3% annualized increase, “the benefit increase provided under this section must be 0%.”
Who is covered
The statute includes anyone who “first became an active member on or after July 1, 1997”. The handbook adds: “MPORS members hired before July 1, 1997, could elect to be covered by GABA or a minimum benefit adjustment.”
The minimum adjustment for earlier members
The handbook says for members hired before July 1, 1997 who did not elect GABA: “retirement benefit payment for each fiscal year may not be less than half of the base salary paid in the current fiscal year to a newly confirmed police officer”. The result depends on each city’s police pay, so no single percentage applies.
Timing and DROP
The MPORS page gives an example: “If you retire on July 1, 2022, you will meet the 12-month requirement on July 1, 2023. You will then receive your first GABA increase beginning with your January 1, 2024, benefit.” The handbook warns: “If you continue to work after the DROP period, you will not receive GABA increases during your period of post DROP employment.”
What the documents do not say
No MPERA notice for the January 2026 or January 2027 increase was archived, so those years follow from the statute. The MPORS web page carries no document date.
Where 2027 stands
The January 1, 2027 MPORS GABA is fixed by statute at 3% for eligible recipients; no vote sets it.
Common mistakes
- Expecting an index-linked COLA. The 3% is set in the statute.
- Applying the 3% GABA to members hired before July 1, 1997 who did not elect it. They get the minimum adjustment.
- Expecting GABA increases while working after the DROP period.
Related: Montana MPORS retirement decisions, how public pension decisions work, and whether Montana taxes pensions.
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Answer againSources
- Montana Legislature, Montana Code Annotated 19-9-1009 Guaranteed annual benefit adjustment (MCA 2025): archive.legmt.gov
- Montana Public Employee Retirement Administration, MPORS Member Handbook Rev. 01/2025: mpera.mt.gov
- Montana Public Employee Retirement Administration, MPORS member web page: mpera.mt.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.