Updated October 30, 2026. Quick answer: The New Jersey Judicial Retirement System (JRS) COLA has been suspended since June 28, 2011 under Chapter 78, P.L. 2011. COLAs added to benefits before that date were not reduced. The State House Commission may reactivate the COLA once the system reaches a target funded ratio. The Division of Pensions and Benefits letter says it is suspended, and the 2025 actuarial report assumes no future COLA. No 2027 COLA is set.
What the guidebook says
The March 2025 JRS Member Guidebook describes the COLA before the suspension: “Prior to the suspension of COLA, the Pension Adjustment Program provided an annual Cost-of-Living Adjustment to retirees and their survivors who received a monthly retirement allowance from the JRS.”
What the Division’s letter says
The Division of Pensions and Benefits letter to certifying officers, dated July 14, 2011, says: “Under a provision of Chapter 78, P.L. 2011, Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLA) are suspended for all current and future retirees of all retirement systems-including the JRS.” “There is no reduction to any COLA increases that were already added to retiree benefits prior to the effective date of the law.” “Chapter 78 also permits the State House Commission to consider reinstating the COLA when the retirement system reaches a “target funded ratio” established by the law.”
Who can reactivate it
The JRS GASB 68 report as of June 30, 2015 says this applies when the plan’s target funded ratio is achieved. It describes the authority: “The Commission will have the authority to reactivate the cost of living adjustment and set the duration and extent of the activation. The Commission must give priority consideration to the reactivation of the cost of living adjustment.” The same report adds: “The Plan has not attained the required “target funded ratio” and thus the pension committee has not been established.”
What the actuary assumes
The Judicial Retirement System GASB 68 report as of June 30, 2024, produced in June 2025, states: “No future COLA is assumed. Previously granted COLAs are included in the data.”
What the documents do not say
No current Division web page on the JRS COLA could be archived, so the status rests on the 2025 documents. The sources give no amount for pre-2011 COLAs or the date of the last one paid, and no source read after the 2015 report says whether the system has reached the target funded ratio.
Where 2027 stands
No 2027 JRS COLA is set: the Division’s July 2011 letter shows the COLA suspended, and the 2025 actuarial report assumes no future COLA.
Common mistakes
- Expecting an annual increase. The Division’s letter says COLA is suspended for all current and future JRS retirees.
- Assuming the suspension removed earlier increases. The Division’s letter says there is no reduction to COLAs already added.
- Applying this page to other New Jersey systems or to judges’ salaries.
Related: New Jersey JRS retirement decisions, how public pension decisions work, and whether New Jersey taxes pensions.
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Answer againSources
- NJ Division of Pensions and Benefits, Judicial Retirement System (JRS) Member Guidebook: www.nj.gov
- NJ Division of Pensions and Benefits, Chapter 78, P.L. 2011, Pension Changes for the Judicial Retirement System (letter to certifying officers): nj.gov
- NJ Division of Pensions and Benefits (actuarial report), JRS GASB 68 Report as of June 30, 2015: nj.gov
- NJ Division of Pensions and Benefits (actuarial report), Judicial Retirement System of New Jersey GASB 68 Report as of June 30, 2024 (Cheiron): www.nj.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.