Updated October 30, 2026. Quick answer: The Employees’ Retirement System of Georgia has no automatic COLA for most members: its Board of Trustees may consider a Post-Retirement Benefit Adjustment each year. At its April 16, 2026 annual meeting the Board granted 2.25% on benefits not above the Social Security wage base, reflected in the July 2026 payment, and a one-time payment of 5% of the annual benefit, to a maximum of $555.36, was scheduled for processing on September 22, 2026 for eligible retirees. No 2027 adjustment is set.
More on public pension retirement ages and eligibility: the Georgia ERS retirement age and eligibility rules.
Estimate a Georgia ERS New Plan pension from service, age and formula salary: Georgia ERS New Plan retirement calculator.
How the adjustment is granted
The ERS pension handbook says: “Each year, the Board of Trustees may consider the grant of a Post-Retirement Benefit Adjustment for retirees.” “Post-Retirement Benefit Adjustments are not guaranteed and financial decisions should not be based on the possibility of an increase until a Post-Retirement Benefit Adjustment has been announced.”
It also excludes newer members: “Employees who first or again become Members of ERS on or after July 1, 2009 are not entitled to any Post-Retirement Benefit Adjustment after retirement.” An adjustment, when approved, goes to retirees “receiving retirement benefits for at least 12 months”, with a further 12-month test for non-disability retirees measured from their Normal Retirement Date. Appellate court judges follow a separate rule: “ACJ retirees do not receive Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA’s) that may be granted by the ERS Board of Trustees. Rather, whenever an increase in salary is effective for sitting Appellate Court Judges or Supreme Court Justices, all ACJ retirees receive a corresponding increase in their retirement benefits.”
The July 2026 adjustment
ERS posted: “A 2.25% monthly cost of living adjustment (COLA) for retirees and beneficiaries, payable on benefits not in excess of the Social Security wage base”. “The 2.25% increase as of July 1, 2026, will be reflected in the July monthly benefit payment payable at the end of July.” The posting sets conditions: “must have a retirement effective date on or before 07/01/2025 for the July 2026 COLA”. and “SGLI annuities are not eligible for COLA”.
The September 2026 one-time payment
ERS states: “The one-time payment will be equal to 5% of the annual ERS benefit in pay at the time the one-time payment is processed, to a maximum payment of $555.36.” “ERS one-time payments will be processed on September 22, 2026.” The conditions include: “must have a retirement effective date on or before September 1, 2025”. and “no one-time payment will be made based on the receipt of a SGLI monthly annuity”.
A bill that is not law
A bill, SB 339, that would provide semiannual postretirement benefit adjustments for all beneficiaries appears in an ERS weekly legislative report with last action February 26, 2026, Senate Read Second Time. This page does not treat it as law, and it did not check what happened after that date.
Where 2027 stands
No 2027 ERS Georgia COLA is set: the Board may consider one at its annual meeting, which produced the 2026 adjustment in April, and this page updates when ERS publishes it.
A worked example
As a computed illustration (not a source figure), a retiree with a monthly benefit of $2,000 (invented, for the computation) receiving the 2.25% adjustment would see an increase of $45 (computed) a month.
Common mistakes
- Expecting an automatic yearly COLA. The handbook says adjustments are not guaranteed.
- Assuming a member who joined on or after July 1, 2009 is covered. The handbook says they are not entitled to any adjustment.
- Treating the September 2026 payment as a permanent raise. It is a one-time payment.
Related: Georgia ERS retirement decisions, how public pension decisions work, and whether Georgia taxes pensions.
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Answer againSources
- Employees’ Retirement System of Georgia, ERS Pension Handbook: www.ers.ga.gov
- Employees’ Retirement System of Georgia, COLA/Post-Retirement Benefit Adjustment (July 2026): www.ers.ga.gov
- Employees’ Retirement System of Georgia, One-Time Post Retirement Benefit Adjustment Payment (September 2026): www.ers.ga.gov
- Employees’ Retirement System of Georgia, Weekly Legislative Report 9, March 20, 2026: ers.ga.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.