NYCERS COLA At $21 Monthly

By MEREDITH KOLODNER

The cost-of-living adjustment for the more-than 127,000 retirees in the New York City Employees' Retirement System will rise by 1.4 percent this year, giving pensioners a maximum increase of $21 per month.

STU LEIBOWITZ: Raise COLA cap.

By law, pension COLAs must be at least 1 percent but cannot exceed 3 percent, and the increases are based on the Consumer Price Index. The COLA only applies to the first $18,000 of a retiree's pension. The Retirees Association of District Council 37, alongside other labor groups, is lobbying for a bill in Albany that would lift the cap from $18,000 to $25,000.

'Good But Not Enough'

"We're thankful for the COLA," said District Council 37 Retirees Association head Stuart Leibowitz. "However, it is not enough to meet the needs of the retirees. We should not be capped at $18,000, because many of our retirees will retire with pensions greater than that."

He pointed out that the Federal COLA can be applied to up to $97,000 of Social Security retirement benefits.

COLAs for city pensions are calculated at one-half of the yearly inflation rate from April 1, 2006 to March 31, 2007. Last year's COLA was 1.7 percent, giving pensioners a maximum increase of $25.50 per month.

Those eligible for the COLA include: disability retirees who have been retired for at least five years; service retirees, beginning at age 62, who have been retired at least five years or beginning at age 55 who have been retired for at least 10 years; and beneficiaries who have been receiving an Accidental Death Benefit for at least five years.

Spouses receiving the joint-and-survivor option benefit are eligible to receive 50 percent of the monthly COLA of the retiree's allowance.