Do TPAF retirees get a COLA?
No cost-of-living increase since June 28, 2011.
Not under current law. The Pension and Health Benefit Reform Law suspended cost-of-living adjustments for retirees of every New Jersey pension system, the TPAF included, from June 28, 2011. Increases added before that date stay in your check. A COLA can come back only if the law reactivates it. Guidebook p. 34, Cost-of-Living Adjustment; N.J.S.A. 43:3B-2
Cost-of-living adjustments are suspended for retirees of all NJ retirement systems by the Pension and Health Benefit Reform Law (N.J.S.A. 43:3B-2), effective June 28, 2011. COLA increases added before that date stay. Before the suspension, the COLA was based on the initial allowance (the Maximum Option amount for Option 1 retirees). Guidebook p. 34, Cost-of-Living Adjustment; N.J.S.A. 43:3B-2
What the law says
N.J.S.A. 43:3B-2: no further adjustments after the effective date of P.L.2011, c.78 'unless the adjustment is reactivated as permitted by law'. N.J.S.A. 43:3B-2
What it means for you
Plan on a flat check. The NJDPB's sample member's Maximum of $2,629.55 a month (see payment options) would still be $2,629.55 ten years later. Prices usually rise over that time, so the same check buys less each year.
That makes other income matter more: Social Security and your savings. See Social Security and Taxes. It also makes the starting amount matter more: one more year of service raises the check you'll keep for life.
How the COLA worked before 2011
If you retired before 2011, this explains the increases already in your check. It doesn't apply to anyone retiring now.
- Under the Pension Adjustment Act, each year's adjustment was 3/5 of the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (averaged September to August) since the calendar year you retired.N.J.S.A. 43:3B-7(a); N.J.S.A. 43:3B-1(d), (f)
- A retiree or survivor first qualified after receiving the allowance for 24 months, so the adjustment began in the 25th month of retirement.N.J.S.A. 43:3B-5; N.J.S.A. 43:3B-7(b)
- Adjustments were paid only to retirees and survivors receiving their regular, full monthly allowance, in monthly installments, and once granted an adjustment could not be decreased or revoked except as the act provided.N.J.S.A. 43:3B-2
- Any COLA you received before the suspension is shown under Current Earnings on your Statement of Allowances and Deductions (check or EFT stub). Retirees can also check their current allowance and deductions in MBOS.Guidebook p. 34
What the NJDPB says
- Cost-of-living adjustments for all NJ retirement systems have been suspended since June 28, 2011. Increases granted before then stay in your check. The law allows them to restart only if reactivated as permitted by law.Guidebook p. 34; N.J.S.A. 43:3B-2
Questions
Do TPAF retirees get a cost-of-living adjustment?
No, not now. COLAs for retirees of all New Jersey pension systems have been suspended since June 28, 2011.
Will I lose COLAs I already got?
No. Increases added before June 28, 2011 stay in your check, and they're listed on your Statement of Allowances and Deductions.
Could the COLA come back?
Only if the law changes. The statute says no further adjustments will be made unless the adjustment is reactivated as permitted by law. Nothing in the sources says that has happened.
How did the TPAF COLA work before 2011?
Under the Pension Adjustment Act it was 3/5 of the rise in the Consumer Price Index since the year you retired, starting in your 25th month of retirement, and figured on your initial allowance (the Maximum Option amount if you chose Option 1).
Source: TPAF Member Guidebook, July 2026 (SP-0733-0726), p. 34. Statute: N.J.S.A. 43:3B-1, 43:3B-2, 43:3B-5, 43:3B-7. Last reviewed .