The increase will be included in the December checks and, because of the delay, will actually be a six-month COLA. Retirees, who were on the pension rolls prior to July 1, 2000, are eligible for this increase.

State and Teacher Retirement Boards have been unable to pay the July increase until the passage of the Fiscal 2002 State Budget. It was not until November 21 that the budget was enacted by the Legislature and sent to Governor Swift for signing. She then had 10 days to make her vetoes and sign the budget. Although there was disagreement in the amount to be appropriated for the Commonwealth's long-range pension funding schedule, the House, Senate and Governor had earlier agreed on the 3% COLA.

Local government retirees - city, town, county, authority, district - received their COLA in July by a vote of their retirement boards which control their own budgets. This was made possible by our Association's 1997 legislation (Ch. 17) which gave autonomy to local retirement boards.

"Delayed state budgets are nothing new and this year's budget was even more difficult to finalize because of the projected $1.4 billion shortfall, due to the recession, which was further exacerbated by the September 11 attack," said Association President Ralph White.

"There were strong philosophical and political differences between the House and Senate. When you add the Governor, with her own fiscal and political agenda to the mix, the delay is easy to understand, despite the media criticism.

"We have kept our members fully informed on the budget's progress through our publication, website and especially our toll-free 24-hour hotline. We have had very few complaints about the delay. I have found that members are very understanding when they are kept informed and I applaud them for being so understanding."

Although the January 2002 Social Security COLA will be 2.6%, Massachusetts' state and local government retirees and survivors will be eligible for 3% COLAs in July 2002, the start of the next fiscal year.

The Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced in October that the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) had increased 2.6% over last year's third quarter index, the standard for Social Security and veterans' benefit increases.

Members will recall that in 1999 we successfully lobbied for an amendment in the outside section of the state budget, which allowed COLAs of 3% rather than the CPI formula then in effect. This was especially beneficial in 1999 when the CPI COLA would have been only 1.3%.

The amendment was accepted by local retirement systems which also paid 3% COLAs in 1999 and in subsequent years.

While it's true that local retirement boards still have the option of paying a lesser 2.6% CPI COLA, we are confident that most will vote for the 3% figure.

"We are well aware that the limited $12,000 base remains a barrier to a full COLA on pensions greater than that amount. But on the positive side, the 3% COLA of the past three years is a cumulative 9%, which beats the cumulative CPI COLA of 7.1% over the same period," said White.