University of California Retirement Plan (UCRP) and UC-PERS Plus 5 Plan benefit recipients will receive a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) effective July 1, 2013. The increase will appear in benefit checks paid at the end of July.
The July 1, 2013 COLA rates will be as follows:
| Retirement Date | COLA |
|---|---|
| On or before July 1, 2006 | 2.00% |
| July 2, 2006 – July 1, 2008 | 2.34% |
| July 2, 2008 – July 1, 2012 | 2.00% |
The COLA applies to all UCRP benefits recipients, including those receiving survivor and UCRP disability income. The COLA formula for the UC-PERS Plus 5 Plan is the same as that used for UCRP.
How the COLA is calculated
The 2013 COLA is based on the 2.34 percent average increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) measured February 2012 to February 2013 for the Los Angeles and San Francisco metropolitan areas.
The COLA formula generally matches the cumulative increase in the CPI up to 2 percent annually. This year members who retired between July 2, 2006 and July 1, 2008 will receive slightly larger than 2 percent COLAs. The larger COLAs help those benefit recipients retain more of their purchasing power by partially making up for earlier years when the CPI increases were less than 2 percent.