Updated October 30, 2026. Quick answer: Illinois JRS gives both tiers an automatic annual increase, compounded on the prior annuity. Tier 1 receives 3.0% per year. Tier 2 receives the lesser of 3% or the CPI-U increase, and the 2026 figure was 3.00%. The Tier 2 figure for January 2027 is not set yet; it depends on the Department of Insurance determination.
The rule for both tiers
The JRS annual report says: “Tier 1: 3.0% per year, compounded annually. Tier 2: 3.0% per year or the annual increase in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is less, compounded annually.” It defines the tiers this way: “Tier 1 pertains to participants who first became a participant of the System prior to January 1, 2011. Tier 2 pertains to participants who first became a participant of the System on or after January 1, 2011.”
The Tier 2 handbook adds: “Annual increases are compounded on the previous year’s annuity. Pension increases are not limited by the maximum retirement benefit.”
When Tier 2 increases begin
The Tier 2 handbook says: “Annual increases to your pension begin the January 1 following your attainment of age 67 or the January 1 following the first full year of retirement, whichever is later. The annual increase is the lesser of: 3% or the annual unadjusted percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index-U.” The JRS Tier 2 retirement annuity page says: “JRS Tier 2 retirees receive a 3% increase, or the annual unadjusted percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index-U, whichever is less, to their pensions on January 1 following their first full year of retirement, but in no event prior to age 67.” The sources do not give a detailed timing rule for Tier 1, so this page does not state one.
How the Tier 2 figure is set and the latest increase
The State Retirement Systems page explains: “the Illinois Department of Insurance annually determines certain annuity limitations for use in benefit determinations by the Retirement Systems and Pension Funds operating under the Illinois Pension Code.” For this system: “For the Judges’ Retirement System (Article 18) the annuity COLA and the increase in the annual salary maximum equals the lesser of 3% or the full CPI-U.”
Its Tier 2 table row for calendar year 2026 reads: “2026 3.00% 3.00%”. The row for 2025 reads: “2025 2.40% 2.40%”. The date the 2026 figure was set is not printed.
Where 2027 stands
The Tier 2 increase for January 2027 is not set yet: the Tier 2 table on the State Retirement Systems site ends with the 2026 row, and this page updates when the Illinois Department of Insurance posts the 2027 figure. The JRS annual report for the year ended June 30, 2025 describes Tier 1 as 3.0% per year, compounded annually. The Illinois Pension Code section for judges was not read for this page, so the rules above rest on the JRS publications.
A worked example
As a computed illustration (not a source figure), a Tier 1 judge with an annuity of $2,000 (invented, for the computation) would see a 3.0% increase of $60 (computed) a month, added to the annuity before the next year’s increase.
Common mistakes
- Applying the Tier 1 rate to a Tier 2 judge. Tier 2 gets the lesser of 3% or the CPI-U increase, which was 2.40% for 2025.
- Expecting a Tier 2 increase at once. It begins on the January 1 after the later of age 67 or the first full year of retirement.
- Looking for a 2027 Tier 2 percentage. The table has no 2027 row yet.
Related: Illinois JRS retirement decisions, how public pension decisions work, and whether Illinois taxes pensions.
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Answer againSources
- Judges’ Retirement System of Illinois, JRS Annual Report (financial report) 2025: ilsrs.illinois.gov
- Judges’ Retirement System of Illinois, Judges’ Retirement System Tier 2 Member Handbook: ilsrs.illinois.gov
- State Retirement Systems of Illinois, JRS Tier 2 Retirement Annuity (Pension): ilsrs.illinois.gov
- State Retirement Systems of Illinois, JRS Tier 2 Salary Limits (Salary Limitations/COLA Increase): ilsrs.illinois.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.