Updated October 30, 2026. Quick answer: Arkansas ATRS pays a simple COLA of 3% of your base retirement benefit every July 1, once you have been retired at least one full fiscal year. The ATRS Member Handbook for the 2026 to 2027 school year states that standing 3%, which is the 2027 rate unless the Board acts. The Board of Trustees may authorize a higher percentage or a compound COLA, and no such board action appears in the ATRS documents read.
More on public pension retirement ages and eligibility: the Arkansas ATRS retirement age and eligibility rules.
The standing rule
The ATRS Member Handbook says: “Every July 1, you will receive a simple cost of living adjustment (COLA) increase to your monthly retirement benefit if you have been retired for at least 1 full fiscal year.” “The annual COLA increase is 3% of your base retirement benefit. The Board of Trustees may authorize a higher COLA percentage or a compound COLA depending on the System’s investment returns and actuarial condition.”
The ATRS COLA page words the timing in months on the payroll rather than fiscal years: “Simple Cost-Of-Living Adjustments (COLAs) are payable on July 1 for retirees who have been on the ATRS payroll for twelve months or longer.”
What the 3% is applied to
The COLA is simple, not compounding. The ATRS COLA page defines the base: “Simple COLAs are calculated on the retirees’ base amount, which is the original amount the retiree received when he or she retired, plus any ad hoc raises received as a result of legislation.” It also states: “The base amount does not include cost-of-living raises.”
Who is left out
A new retiree waits. The handbook glossary describes the COLA as “once a year on July 1 after you have been retired one full fiscal year”. Other Arkansas systems, such as APERS, run their own rules and are not covered here.
Where 2027 stands
The July 2027 ATRS COLA is set at the standing 3% simple rate stated in the ATRS handbook for the 2026 to 2027 school year, unless the Board of Trustees authorizes more. The handbook’s summary page prints the rate as “at least 3% every July 1”, while the question and answer and glossary print 3%. The documents read do not show any higher or compound percentage actually granted, and no COLA-specific statute section is named in them.
A worked example
As a computed illustration (not a source figure), a retiree with a base monthly benefit of $2,000 (invented, for the computation) would see $60 (computed) a month added on July 1 after the first full fiscal year.
Common mistakes
- Expecting a COLA after less than one full fiscal year of retirement. ATRS requires at least one full fiscal year.
- Compounding the 3%. The COLA is simple and calculated on the base amount, which does not include earlier cost of living raises.
- Assuming a bigger 2027 raise. A higher percentage or a compound COLA takes a Board of Trustees decision, and none appears in the ATRS documents read.
Related: Arkansas ATRS retirement decisions, how public pension decisions work, and whether Arkansas 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
- Arkansas Teacher Retirement System, ATRS Member Handbook, 2026-2027 School Year: www.artrs.gov
- Arkansas Teacher Retirement System, Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA): www.artrs.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.