Updated October 30, 2026. Quick answer: Each July the Nebraska State Patrol Retirement System adjusts benefits. For officers who became members before July 1, 2016, the statute gives each retiree whichever of its methods produces the greatest adjustment, and the standard method is the lesser of the change in the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers from June 30 to June 30 or 2.5%. For officers from that date on, it is the lesser of that change or 1%. For the year ending June 30, 2026 the CPI rose 3.52%, and NPERS reports 2.5% for Tier 1 members and 1% for Tier 2, 3 and 4 members. The 2027 adjustment is not published.
The rule for members before July 1, 2016
Nebraska Revised Statute 81-2027.08 says: “Each retired member or beneficiary, if eligible, shall receive an annual benefit adjustment under the cost-of-living adjustment calculation method that provides the retired member or beneficiary the greatest annual benefit adjustment increase.” The method in subsection (3) is that the benefit is “increased annually by the lesser of (a) the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers for the period between June 30 of the prior year to June 30 of the present year or (b) two and one-half percent.” “This section applies to an officer who became a member prior to July 1, 2016.”
The rule for members from July 1, 2016
Nebraska Revised Statute 81-2027.09 says: “shall be increased annually by the lesser of (a) the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers for the period between June 30 of the prior year to June 30 of the present year or (b) one percent.”
The July 2026 adjustment
The NPERS page for School, Judges and Patrol says: “For the year ending June 30, 2026, the CPI increase was 3.52%. As a result, eligible School, Judges, and Patrol Tier 1 members received an increase of 2.5% and Tier 2/3/4 members received an increase of 1%.” “July retirement benefits, paid at the end of the month, included the COLA adjustment.”
The year before
The January 2026 NPERS retiree update says: “For the year ending June 30, 2025, the CPI increase was 2.56%. As a result, School, Judges, and State Patrol retirees received a 2.5% increase if their tier of benefits includes the 2.5% cap.”
A 2025 bill on the caps
The committee statement on a 2025 bill says: “AM 798 strikes original sections 2 and 3 from the bill, which contain the provisions increasing the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) under the State Patrol retirement plan.” The final outcome of the bill was not read, and the statute text read still shows the 2.5% and 1% caps.
What the documents do not say
The NPERS page groups School, Judges and Patrol and uses tier wording, so which Patrol members get which cap rests on the two statutes. Section 81-2027.08 also has a purchasing-power floor of sixty percent of the initial benefit in subsection (2) and a cumulative-CPI method in subsection (4) for retirees with long service or a disability or death benefit, so an individual increase can differ from the standard method quoted here. The Patrol handbook returned a server error and is not archived.
Where 2027 stands
The 2027 State Patrol adjustment is not published: by statute it is determined each July from the CPI change to June 30, so it cannot be known before mid-2027.
Common mistakes
- Expecting the full CPI change. The increase is the lesser of the CPI change or the cap.
- Using the 2.5% cap for every Patrol retiree. Members from July 1, 2016 have a 1% cap.
- Applying this page to the school or judges plans, which share the NPERS notice but have their own statutes.
Related: Nebraska State Patrol Retirement System retirement decisions, how public pension decisions work, and whether Nebraska taxes pensions.
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Answer againSources
- Nebraska Legislature, Neb. Rev. Stat. 81-2027.08: nebraskalegislature.gov
- Nebraska Legislature, Neb. Rev. Stat. 81-2027.09: nebraskalegislature.gov
- NPERS, School, Judges, & Patrol COLA (web page): npers.ne.gov
- NPERS, SJP retiree update 2026 (January 2026 benefit payment schedule): npers.ne.gov
- Nebraska Legislature, LB76 Committee Statement (109th Legislature, 2025): nebraskalegislature.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.