Updated October 30, 2026. Quick answer: The City of Miami Fire Fighters’ and Police Officers’ Retirement Trust does not pay a percentage COLA. Eligible retirees receive a monthly amount from a table in City Code section 40-204, paid out of a COLA fund, and there is no guarantee of a specific amount. The table’s base amount, $1,864 a month for 25 years of creditable service and 22 completed years of retirement, was raised from $1,852 since the prior valuation and held at $1,864 for January 1, 2026. No 2027 table has been published.
Where the rule lives
The Trust’s COLA memo says: “THE COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENT (COLA) PROVISIONS OF THE SYSTEM ARE FOUND IN SECTION 40-204 OF THE CITY CODE.” On what it guarantees: “UNLIKE YOUR MONTHLY PENSION BENEFIT WHICH IS A GUARANTEED AMOUNT, THERE IS NO GUARANTEE TO A SPECIFIC COLA AMOUNT. IT IS BASED ON AVAILABLE RESOURCES.”
Who qualifies
The documents word eligibility in different ways. The memo says: “TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR COLA, A RETIREE MUST HAVE BEEN RETIRED FOR FOUR (4) FULL YEARS AFTER AGE 46.” The Summary Plan Description says: “After you have been retired 4 years and are at least 50 years of age you may qualify to receive a Cost-of-Living Allowance (COLA) benefit from the Fund’s excess interest earnings.”
How the fund is paid for
The COLA Fund Report describes the funding: the fund receives 75% of the first 2.5% of excess investment return on FIPO assets, 50% of the next 2.5% and 25% of the next 2.5%, “subject to a minimum City contribution of $2.5 million, increasing 4% annually.”
The 2026 table
The actuary’s report states: “In addition to prior COLA, benefits are based on attached table, with $1,864 monthly benefit for 25 years of creditable service and 22 completed years of retirement (after age 46).” The report explains how the amount moves: “The $1,864 amount is reduced by 5% for each year of retirement less than 22 and each year of creditable service less than 25 and increased similarly for years of retirement greater than 22 and years of creditable service greater than 25.” The recommendation: “we recommend keeping the COLA table at $1,864 as of January 1, 2026.” The year before: “The COLA table base amount was increased from $1,852 to $1,864 based on the COLA Net Reserve calculated in the January 1, 2025 COLA Fund valuation report.”
What the documents do not say
The three eligibility wordings are not reconciled in the sources read. City Code section 40-204 itself was not archived, and no Board vote date for the 2026 table was found. The individual table cell amounts are not stated here.
Where 2027 stands
No 2027 Miami FIPO COLA table is published: the table amount follows the actuary’s annual COLA fund report, and no 2027 report was listed.
Common mistakes
- Looking for a CPI percentage. This COLA is a dollar table amount from a fund, not an index.
- Reading $1,864 as what every retiree receives. It is the table amount for 25 years of creditable service and 22 years of retirement, reduced by 5% for each year below those levels and increased similarly for each year above them.
- Assuming the amount is guaranteed. The Trust’s own memo says there is no guarantee of a specific COLA amount.
Related: Miami FIPO retirement decisions, how public pension decisions work, and whether Florida taxes pensions.
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Answer againSources
- Miami Firefighters’ and Police Officers’ Retirement System, A Brief Explanation of Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA website memo): www.miamifipo.org
- City of Miami FIPO Retirement Trust, Summary Plan Description: www.miamifipo.org
- Nyhart for the City of Miami Fire Fighters and Police Officers Retirement Trust, COLA Fund Report, January 1, 2026: www.miamifipo.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.