Vermont § 1949 - Postretirement adjustments to retirement allowances

§ 1949. Postretirement adjustments to retirement allowances

• (a) Postretirement adjustments to retirement allowance. On January 1 of each year, the retirement allowance of each beneficiary of the System
  who is in receipt of a retirement allowance for at least a one-year period as of December
  31 in the previous year, and who meets the eligibility criteria set forth in this
  section, shall be adjusted by the amount described in subsection (d) of this section.
  In no event shall a beneficiary receive a negative adjustment to the beneficiary’s
  retirement allowance. (b) Calculation of net percentage increase. Each year, a determination shall be made of any increase or decrease, to the nearest
  one-tenth of a percent, in the Consumer Price Index for the month ending on June 30
  of that year to the average of the Consumer Price Index for the month ending on June
  30 of the previous year. (1) Consumer Price Index; decreases. In the event of a decrease of the Consumer Price Index as of June 30 for the preceding
  year, there shall be no adjustment to the retirement allowance of a beneficiary for
  the subsequent year beginning on January 1; provided, however, that: (A) such decrease shall be applied as an offset against the first subsequent year’s increase
  of the Consumer Price Index up to the full amount of such increase; and (B) to the extent that such decrease is greater than such subsequent year’s increase,
  such decrease shall be offset in the same manner against two or more years of such
  increases, for up to but not exceeding five subsequent years of such increases, until
  fully offset. (2) Consumer Price Index; increases. In the event of an increase in the Consumer Price Index, and provided there remains
  an increase following the application of any offset as in subdivision (1) of this
  subsection, that amount shall be identified as the net percentage increase and used
  to determine the members’ postretirement adjustment as set forth in subsection (d)
  of this section. (c) Eligibility for postretirement adjustment. In order for a beneficiary to receive a postretirement adjustment allowance, the beneficiary
  must meet the following eligibility requirements: (1) For any Group A or Group C member eligible for normal retirement, or who is vested
  deferred, on or before June 30, 2022, the member must be in receipt of a retirement
  allowance for at least 12 months prior to the January 1 effective date of any postretirement
  adjustment. (2) For any Group C member who is first eligible for normal retirement and leaves active
  service on or after July 1, 2022, the member must be in receipt of a retirement allowance
  for at least 24 months prior to the January 1 effective date of any postretirement
  adjustment. (3) Special rule for Group C early retirement. A Group C member in receipt of an early
  retirement allowance shall not receive a postretirement adjustment to the member’s
  retirement allowance until such time as the member has reached normal retirement age,
  provided the member meets all eligibility criteria set forth in this subsection. (d) Amount of postretirement adjustment. The postretirement adjustment for each member who meets the eligibility criteria set
  forth in subsection (c) of this section shall be as follows: (1) the full amount of the net percentage increase calculated pursuant to subsection (b)
  of this section for all Group A members, provided that: (A) the net percentage increase following the application of any offset as provided in
  this section equals or exceeds one percent; and (B) the maximum amount of any adjustment under this section shall be five percent; and (2) one-half of the net percentage increase calculated pursuant to subsection (b) of this
  section for all Group C members, provided that: (A) For Group C members eligible for normal retirement or who are vested deferred on or
  before June 30, 2022, the maximum amount of any adjustment under this section shall
  be five percent. An adjustment of less than one percent shall be assigned a value
  of one percent. (B) For Group C members first eligible for normal retirement and who leave active service
  on or after July 1, 2022, the maximum amount of any adjustment under this section
  shall be four percent and the minimum amount shall be zero percent. (e) As used in this section, “Consumer Price Index” means the Northeast Region Consumer
  Price Index for all urban consumers, designated as “CPI-U,” in the northeast region,
  as published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. (Added 1971, No. 233 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1981, No. 41, § 35; 1989, No. 169 (Adj. Sess.), § 8; 1991, No. 64, § 8, eff. June 18, 1991; 1991, No. 247 (Adj. Sess.), § 5; 1999, No. 158 (Adj. Sess.), § 13; 2009, No. 74 (Adj. Sess.), § 7; 2009, No. 139 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 6a, 6b, 7, 13; 2011, No. 63, § H.2; 2015, No. 114 (Adj. Sess.), § 7; 2019, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 88; 2021, No. 114 (Adj. Sess.), § 23, eff. May 9, 2022; 2021, No. 173 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. July 1, 2022; 2023, No. 87 (Adj. Sess.), § 85, eff. March 13, 2024.)