The board may change the increase if its actuary finds the change won't materially impair the system's finances, or is needed to protect them. The board cut the COLA to zero effective July 1, 2017, and has since granted one-time increases. ORC 3307.67(E); AV 2025, p. 71, App. C §9
Increases since 2017
| Fiscal year | Increase | Who got it |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | none | COLA reduced to zero effective July 1, 2017. AV 2025, p. 71, App. C §9 |
| 2023 | 3% | One-time 3% of the base benefit, starting on the retirement anniversary in fiscal 2023, for those who retired before July 1, 2018. AV 2025, p. 71, App. C §9 |
| 2024 | 1% | One-time 1% of the base benefit, starting on the retirement anniversary in fiscal 2024, for those who retired before July 1, 2019. AV 2025, p. 71, App. C §9 |
| 2025 | none | AV 2025 lists no COLA for fiscal 2025. Check with STRS Ohio AV 2025, p. 71, App. C §9 (no fiscal 2025 entry) |
| 2026 | 1.5% | One-time 1.5% of the base benefit, starting on the retirement anniversary in fiscal 2026, for those who retired before July 1, 2021. AV 2025, pp. 71-72, App. C §§9, 11 |
| 2027 | 1.6% | 1.6% COLA in fiscal 2027 (effective July 1, 2026) for those who began receiving benefits on or before June 1, 2022, added to the base benefit on the retirement-date anniversary. Check with STRS Ohio KEA (reprint of STRS E-Update, Mar. 20, 2026) |
STRS Ohio's yearly increase was set to zero in 2017. Since then the board has granted one-time increases: 3% (2022-23), 1% (2023-24), 1.5% (2025-26) and 1.6% (2026-27), each for people retired at least about five years.
That history. No increase is assumed for future years unless you enter one.
AV 2025, p. 71; KEAThe board has said its goal is to make 32 years the permanent standard for an unreduced benefit and to provide a permanent 1% COLA. These are goals, not adopted benefits. Plan Options, p. 6, Future benefit changes; KEA
If you take a PLOP, future benefit changes are figured on the reduced benefit. Plans of Payment, pp. 14-15
The Combined and Defined Contribution Plans have no COLA (see which plan). Plan Options, pp. 11-12 Because no future increase is promised, the STRS Ohio calculator assumes none. A COLA is figured on your base benefit, so choices that lower it, like a PLOP on the plans of payment page, also lower future increases.
What the brochures say
- Defined Benefit Plan retirees can get a COLA starting on the fifth anniversary of their retirement date, if the board decides one is payable. It's paid on your retirement anniversary.Plan Summary, pp. 16-17; Plans of Payment, pp. 20-21
- Since 2017 the board has granted one-time increases of the base benefit: 3% in fiscal 2023 (retired before July 1, 2018), 1% in fiscal 2024 (retired before July 1, 2019), and 1.5% in fiscal 2026 (retired before July 1, 2021).AV 2025, p. 71, App. C §9
- Check with STRS OhioIn March 2026 the board approved a 1.6% COLA for fiscal 2027 for those who began benefits on or before June 1, 2022.KEAOnly in a union reprint of board news (needsValidation cola-fy2025-and-fy2027).
- The board's stated goal is a permanent 1% COLA. That's a goal, not an adopted benefit.Plan Options, p. 6
- If you take a PLOP, future increases are figured on your reduced benefit.Plans of Payment, pp. 14-15
Questions
Does STRS Ohio give a COLA every year?
No. The board decides from time to time whether one is payable. Since the COLA was cut to zero in 2017, increases have been one-time grants for retirees who'd been retired long enough.
When could I get my first COLA?
Starting on the fifth anniversary of your retirement date, if the board grants one.
Source: STRS Ohio, Understanding Your STRS Ohio Benefits: Plan Summary, 2026|2027 (form 20-101, Aug. 2026), pp. 16-17. Also: STRS Ohio Service Retirement and Plans of Payment (Defined Benefit Plan), 2026|2027 (form 15-126, 6/26), pp. 14-15, 20-21. Also: STRS Ohio Retirement Plan Options (new-member selection brochure), Form 20-609, 6/26, p. 6. Background: Ohio Revised Code Chapter 3307; STRS Ohio Actuarial Valuation as of June 30, 2025 (Cheiron); STRS Ohio board news of March 20, 2026, as reprinted by the Kent Education Association. Last reviewed .