Not a Jumbo COLA, but Bigger Than Average
Civil service and military retirees will get a 3.5 percent increase in their retirement checks next year, the largest cost-of- living adjustment for most retirees in a decade.</br></br>The Social Security Administration and Office of Personnel Management announced the benefit increase based on inflation data reported yesterday by the Labor Department.</br></br>Retirees and surviving spouses covered by the Civil Service Retirement System and military annuitants will receive the 3.5 percent COLA. People who retired under the newer Federal Employees Retirement System and who are 62 or older will receive a 2.5 percent increase.</br></br>The benefit increase probably will help many retirees pay for higher health insurance premiums in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program next year.</br></br>According to the latest available data, the typical CSRS retiree receives a monthly benefit of $1,811, which the COLA will increase by $63 a month. That's about double the increase in the FEHBP's popular Blue Cross and Blue Shield standard-option family plan, whose premiums are going up by $30.61 a month in 2001.