Updated October 30, 2026. Quick answer: The Montana Firefighters’ Unified Retirement System (FURS) pays a Guaranteed Annual Benefit Adjustment (GABA) of 3% on January 1 of each year, fixed in section 19-13-1010 of the Montana Code. The benefit must have begun at least 12 months earlier, and the member must have become active on or after July 1, 1997 or elected GABA. Members hired earlier who did not elect it and have at least 10 years of service get a minimum benefit adjustment. The January 2027 GABA is fixed by statute.
The statute
Section 19-13-1010 says: “on January 1 of each year, the permanent monthly benefit payable during the preceding January to each recipient who is eligible under subsection (3) must be increased by 3%.” On other increases: “If a recipient’s benefit payable during the preceding January has been increased by one or more adjustments not provided for in this section and the increases amount to more than a 3% annualized increase, then the benefit increase provided under this section must be 0%.”
Who is eligible
The statute requires that “the benefit’s commencement date is at least 12 months prior to January 1 of the year in which the adjustment is to be made”. It covers anyone who “first became an active member on or after July 1, 1997”.
What the handbook says
The member handbook says: “If you elected GABA, or you became an active member on or after July 1, 1997, you will be eligible for a 3% GABA.” “Before you receive an increase under GABA, you need to have received your benefit for at least 12 months. Once eligible, you will receive your first increase in your retirement benefit payment that following January.”
Members who did not elect GABA
The handbook says: “If you have at least 10 years of service, and did not choose to be covered under GABA, you will receive a minimum retirement benefit adjustment.” That adjustment follows a city’s firefighter base salary, so it has no single percentage.
What the documents do not say
No dated notice of the January 2026 or January 2027 increase exists in the archive, so those years follow from the statute. The 2025 statute text was read; later amendments were not separately checked.
Where 2027 stands
The January 1, 2027 FURS GABA is fixed by statute at 3% for eligible recipients; no vote sets it.
Common mistakes
- Expecting an index-linked COLA. The 3% is set in the statute.
- Expecting 3% on top of every other increase. The statute makes the GABA 0% where other increases already total more than a 3% annualized increase.
- Expecting a GABA before 12 full months of retirement.
Related: Montana FURS retirement decisions, how public pension decisions work, and whether Montana taxes pensions.
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Answer againSources
- Montana Legislature, 19-13-1010. Guaranteed annual benefit adjustment, MCA (2025): mca.legmt.gov
- MPERA, Montana Firefighters’ Unified Retirement System (FURS) Member Handbook, Rev. 03/2026: mpera.mt.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.