Updated October 30, 2026. Quick answer: The Montana Game Wardens’ and Peace Officers’ Retirement System (GWPORS) pays a Guaranteed Annual Benefit Adjustment (GABA) on January 1 of each year, fixed in section 19-8-1105 of the Montana Code: 3% for recipients hired before July 1, 2007 and 1.5% for those hired on or after that date, with an exception for existing members of a 3% plan. The benefit must have begun at least 12 months earlier. The January 2027 GABA is fixed by the same statute.
The statute
Section 19-8-1105 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 the applicable percentage provided in subsection (4).” The 3% rate: “The applicable percentage is 3% for benefit recipients hired or assuming office: (i) before July 1, 2007”. The other rate: “the applicable percentage is 1.5% for benefit recipients hired or assuming office on or after July 1, 2007.”
Who is eligible
The statute says: “a benefit recipient is eligible for and must receive the minimum annual benefit adjustment provided for in this section if 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.” When other increases already exceed the rate: “then the benefit increase provided under this section must be 0%.”
How the handbook and MPERA describe it
The member handbook says: “If you were hired on or after July 1, 2007, you will be eligible for a 1.5% GABA.” The MPERA page says: “You need to have received your benefit for at least 12 months to become eligible for a GABA increase. You will receive your first increase in your retirement benefit payment that following January.”
What the documents do not say
No source states a specific announcement for January 2026 or January 2027, so those years follow from the statute. The statute text also covers contingent annuitants and a top-up rule that this page does not summarize in full, and no prior-year figures are printed.
Where 2027 stands
The January 1, 2027 GWPORS GABA is fixed by statute at 3% or 1.5% by hire date; no vote sets it.
Common mistakes
- Expecting an index-linked COLA. The rate is fixed in the statute.
- Applying 3% to every recipient. Those hired on or after July 1, 2007 get 1.5% unless they are existing members of a 3% plan.
- Expecting a GABA before the benefit has been paid for 12 months.
Related: Montana GWPORS retirement decisions, how public pension decisions work, and whether Montana taxes pensions.
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Answer againSources
- Montana Legislature, 19-8-1105. Guaranteed annual benefit adjustment, MCA: leg.mt.gov
- Montana Public Employee Retirement Administration, GWPORS member handbook (Rev. 02/2026): mpera.mt.gov
- Montana Public Employee Retirement Administration, MPERA GWPORS members page: 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.