How it works
The COLA matches the CPI-U, up to 3% a year, and applies only to the first part of your benefit (the COLA base). No COLA when the CPI is negative. The base is indexed each year by the COLA granted. Handbook p. 22, Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA)
By law the COLA equals the CPI-U increase up to 3%; more only if the Legislature pays for it. 5 M.R.S. §17806(1)(A), (1)(A-1), (1)(B)
The handbook says the COLA applies to 'the first $20,000 of your retirement benefit (indexed)'. The statute reset the base to $24,186.25 effective July 1, 2022, and MainePERS's COLA page gives the 2026 base as $27,142.56 and the 2027 base as $27,956.84. We use the published bases.
Handbook p. 22; 5 M.R.S. §17806(1)(A); MainePERS COLA pageThe handbook says the COLA 'matches' the CPI-U and does not mention the 3% cap. The statute caps it at 3% (higher only by appropriation), and the 2026 COLA was 3.0% with CPI-U at 3.5%.
Handbook p. 22; 5 M.R.S. §17806(1)(A), (B); MainePERSpective Fall 2026 p. 1| Year | Base (yearly) | COLA | Most a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2027 | $27,956.84 | — | — |
| 2026 | $27,142.56 | 3% | $67.86 |
| 2025 | $26,428.98 | 2.7% | $59.47 |
| 2023 | $24,911.84 | — | — |
| 2022 | $24,186.25 | — | — |
Bases for 2022 (the law), 2023 (Ready to Retire), 2025 and 2026 (MainePERSpective and the COLA page), and 2027 (the COLA page). MainePERS COLA page; MainePERS COLA page; MainePERSpective Fall 2026 p. 1; MainePERSpective Fall 2025 p. 1, 2025 Annual Cost-of-Living Adjustment; Ready to Retire (2023) slide 12; 5 M.R.S. §17806(1)(A)
Your first COLA
- Age-60 group: After at least 12 months of payments; the COLA begins the September after you meet this. A retirement date on or before September 1 gets any COLA in September of the following year.
- Age-62 or 65 group: The first September that is at least 12 months after you reach your NRA (and, per the 2026 COLA page, a retirement date on or before September 1 of the prior year).
Handbook p. 22, Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA); 5 M.R.S. §17806(3)
- Age-60 group, retiring July 1, 2026: first COLA September 2027. Retiring October 1, 2026 instead: September 2028.
- Age-62 group, retiring July 1, 2026 at 58 with 25 years: you reach 62 on June 15, 2030, so the first COLA waits until September 2031.
The handbook and MainePERS's COLA page word the waiting rule slightly differently for NRA 62/65 members (see conflicts). Only a September 1 NRA date is affected.
What we do: We follow the handbook's '12 months after' wording.
What would settle it: MainePERS confirmation or a retiree's first COLA letter.For NRA 62/65 members the handbook says the first COLA is the first September 'at least 12 months after you reach your NRA'; the 2026 COLA page says NRA must have been reached 'by August 31, 2025'. They differ only for a member who reaches NRA on September 1. Our calculator follows the handbook.
Handbook p. 22; MainePERS COLA pageTen years of COLAs (our numbers)
MainePERS's $30,000 yearly benefit, starting July 2026 for a retiree past normal retirement age, if the CPI-U rose 3.5% every year (so every COLA is the 3% cap):
| COLA | Base | New yearly | Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 2027 | $27,957 | $30,839 | $2,569.89 |
| September 2028 | $28,796 | $31,703 | $2,641.88 |
| September 2029 | $29,659 | $32,592 | $2,716.03 |
| September 2030 | $30,549 | $33,509 | $2,792.40 |
| September 2031 | $31,466 | $34,453 | $2,871.07 |
| September 2032 | $32,410 | $35,425 | $2,952.09 |
| September 2033 | $33,382 | $36,427 | $3,035.55 |
| September 2034 | $34,383 | $37,458 | $3,121.50 |
| September 2035 | $35,415 | $38,521 | $3,210.04 |
| September 2036 | $36,477 | $39,615 | $3,301.24 |
The first raise is $838.71 a year, not 3% of $30,000, because only the base gets the COLA. Bases after 2027 assume the base grows only by the COLA.
A 2026 law (PL 2025, c. 756) created a Retirement Improvement Fund, to be funded by future appropriations, to raise the COLA base for the State and Teacher Plan until it reaches $40,000. No money has been appropriated in the sources. Legislative Update (May 2026) p. 1, An Act Establishing the Retirement Improvement Fund; MainePERSpective Fall 2026 p. 3
The base rises each year by the COLA granted, and a 2026 law set up a fund that could raise it toward $40,000 if money is appropriated. Projections beyond 2027 assume the base grows only by the COLA.
What we do: We grow the base by the COLA each year and ignore possible appropriations.
What would settle it: Each year's MainePERS COLA announcement.From the sources
- The yearly cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) follows the CPI-U, up to 3%, and is paid from September. It applies only to the first part of your benefit, the COLA base. There is no COLA when the CPI falls.Handbook p. 22; 5 M.R.S. §17806(1)
- For 2026 the COLA was 3.0% (CPI-U was 3.5%) on the first $27,142.56 of yearly benefit, at most $67.86 a month. The base for 2027 is $27,956.84.MainePERS COLA page; MainePERSpective Fall 2026 p. 1
- MainePERS's example: a $30,000 yearly benefit rises by $814.28 ($27,142.56 x 3.0%) to $30,814.28.MainePERS COLA page
- With a normal retirement age of 60, your first COLA comes the September after 12 months of payments (retire on or before September 1 to get it the next September). With 62 or 65, it's the first September at least 12 months after you reach that age.Handbook p. 22
- A 2026 law set up a Retirement Improvement Fund that could raise the COLA base toward $40,000 if the Legislature puts money in it.Legislative Update (May 2026) p. 1
Questions
How big is the MainePERS COLA?
It follows the CPI-U, up to 3% a year, on the first part of your benefit only: $27,142.56 a year in 2026. The 2026 COLA was 3%, at most $67.86 a month.
When is the COLA paid?
Each September, once you've waited long enough. The wait depends on your normal retirement age; check with MainePERS for your first one.
Does the COLA apply to my whole pension?
No. Only the part up to the COLA base ($27,142.56 in 2026, $27,956.84 in 2027). The rest of your benefit doesn't get the increase.
Source: MainePERS Benefits for Teachers: Teacher Member Handbook, 2026, p. 22. Also: MainePERS COLA page; Legislative Update (May 2026); MainePERSpective Fall 2026; MainePERSpective Fall 2025; Ready to Retire (2023); 5 M.R.S. § 17806. Last reviewed .