Updated October 30, 2026. Quick answer: The Jacksonville Police and Fire Pension Fund pays a fixed 3.0% COLA in the first bi-weekly pay period of each January, at a fixed rate rather than an index. The Summary Plan Description says the original COLA tracked the CPI up to a 3% maximum, and that from the COLA granted in April 2000 the rate has been a fixed 3%. The January 2027 increase follows the same plan terms.
The fixed rate
The 2025 Summary Plan Description says: “Beginning with the COLA granted in April 2000, the recipient is to be granted an annual COLA in the fixed rate of 3%.” The original design: “Upon original enactment, the COLA was based on the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded for the previous calendar year, subject to a maximum of 3%.”
Timing
The Summary Plan Description on eligibility: “Members who retire prior to December 31st of a given calendar year are eligible for the calculation of a COLA on the first full bi-weekly pay period after the succeeding January 1st.” The October 1, 2025 actuarial valuation (revised May 14, 2026) says: “Each retiree and beneficiary will receive a 3.0% increase in benefits on each first bi-weekly pay period in January.” For new retirees: “Each retiree will receive a 3.0% increase in benefits beginning with the first bi-weekly pay period in the first January after commencement of benefit and in each subsequent first bi-weekly pay period in January.”
What the documents do not say
The text of Chapter 121 of the City Ordinance Code was not archived, so no ordinance section is cited. No document names the January 2026 increase as a separate event; the 3.0% is the plan’s standing rate. The Summary Plan Description and the valuation word the first-year timing slightly differently, and both are quoted as printed. The General Employees’ Pension Plan and the Corrections Officers plan are not covered here.
Where 2027 stands
The January 2027 increase is the same fixed 3.0% under the plan terms read, and no separate 2027 announcement was found.
Common mistakes
- Looking for a CPI calculation. Since April 2000 the rate has been fixed.
- Assuming the increase starts the January right after retirement for everyone. The two documents word first-year timing differently, so check the plan’s own wording.
- Applying the 3.0% to the General Employees’ plan. That plan has its own rule.
Related: Jacksonville Police and Fire Pension Fund retirement decisions, how public pension decisions work, and whether Florida taxes pensions.
Find the right next step for your situation
About how much do you have invested? Pick the range that fits; your next step appears immediately below.
Talk to an advisor about retirement income
For U.S. investors with $250,000 or more in investable assets. WiserAdvisor is an independent service matching you with 2 to 3 vetted advisers. Its form asks for your ZIP code and answers to a few questions; a match is not guaranteed.
Free to request, with no obligation to hire. By submitting, you consent to calls, texts and emails from WiserAdvisor and up to three advisers. Advisers pay for introductions.
Clear Money Guide may earn a referral payment for a qualifying completed form. An introduction is not a Clear Money Guide recommendation.
Opens on WiserAdvisor’s site in a new tab.
Explore advisor help with retirement income
Considering financial advice? Request an adviser introduction with no obligation to hire.
The form is run by Kapitalwise, our advisor-matching partner. Requesting an introduction is free. Submitting the form shares your contact details with advisers, so expect calls and texts. Advisers pay for introductions. Clear Money Guide may earn a referral payment for a qualifying submitted form, whether or not you hire anyone. A match is not guaranteed.
The Kapitalwise form opens here; you stay on this page.
What happens when you press the button
It asks about nine questions: age, investable assets, location; then your name, email and phone number, and verifies the phone by text. Nothing loads and nothing reaches Kapitalwise until you press the button.
Prefer flat-fee or hourly pricing instead? Compare ranges here.
Answer againSources
- City of Jacksonville Police and Fire Pension Fund, Summary Plan Description 2025: www.jacksonville.gov
- City of Jacksonville Police and Fire Pension Fund, Actuarial Valuation Report as of October 1, 2025 (revised): www.jacksonville.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.