Updated October 30, 2026. Quick answer: The Middlesex County Retirement System does not pay an automatic COLA: each year the Retirement Board may vote to grant one of up to 3%. In March 2026 the Board voted unanimously to grant the maximum, which for Middlesex is 3% of the first $16,000 of a retirement benefit, up to $480.00 a year, effective July 1. No 2027 vote has been taken.
How a Massachusetts county COLA is granted
The state retirement guide explains: “Each year the PERAC Actuary advises the retirement boards of the increase in the Consumer Price Index. The retirement boards then can grant a COLA, but not over 3%. Notice must be given to the legislative body before the board grants the COLA.” Who is covered: “Every member and beneficiary in that system who was receiving an allowance as of June 30 of the prior fiscal year would then be entitled to a COLA.”
The base and the board’s option
On the base: “A retirement board, with the approval of the local legislative body may increase the COLA base incrementally beyond the $12,000 level.” Chapter 32, section 103 lets a board decline in one case: “In the event that the board determines that the cost of living adjustment recommended by said report shall substantially impair the funding schedule of said system, the board may elect not to pay a cost of living increase for said fiscal year and shall file notice of its election not to pay and analysis of the impact on the funding schedule with the commission within 30 days of its action.”
The 2026 vote
The Spring 2026 newsletter says: “The Middlesex County Retirement Board voted unanimously on March 18th to grant retirees the maximum allowable Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA). This increase will take effect July 1st.” “Under Massachusetts law, the maximum COLA available to retirees of the Middlesex County Retirement System is 3% of the first $16,000 of retirement benefits, or a maximum annual increase of $480.00.”
The year before
The Spring 2025 newsletter reports: “The Middlesex County Retirement Board voted unanimously on March 19th to grant retirees the maximum allowable Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA).”
What the documents do not say
The $12,000 base in the state guide, written for members who joined on or after April 2, 2012, is lower than the current $16,000 base, which comes from the newsletters; the approval that raised it was not archived. The 2026 figure rests on the newsletter text, and no earlier year is stated here because the newsletter’s history chart was not read as a table.
Where 2027 stands
No 2027 Middlesex COLA is set: the Retirement Board votes each spring, and the News page shows no 2027 decision.
Common mistakes
- Treating 3% as a 3% raise on the whole benefit. It applies to the first $16,000 only, so the most a retiree gains is $480.00 a year.
- Assuming the COLA is automatic. The state guide says a system that has accepted the option votes to grant an increase for a given year.
- Applying this to state or teacher retirees. Those are separate systems.
Related: Middlesex County Retirement System retirement decisions, how public pension decisions work, and whether Massachusetts taxes pensions.
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Answer againSources
- Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission (hosted by Middlesex), Massachusetts Public Employee Retirement Guide for those becoming members on or after April 2, 2012 (COLA section): middlesexretirement.org
- Massachusetts Legislature, M.G.L. c.32, section 103: malegislature.gov
- Middlesex County Retirement System, Middlesex County Retirement System News, Spring 2026: middlesexretirement.org
- Middlesex County Retirement System, Middlesex County Retirement System News, Spring 2025: middlesexretirement.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.