Bill > SB172

This bill allows the oversight boards of several state retirement systems, including those for firefighters, police, judges, law enforcement, and teachers, to approve cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for retirees under specific financial conditions. A COLA is an increase in retirement benefits to help offset inflation. The bill establishes that a COLA can be approved if the retirement system's "funded ratio"—which is the ratio of its assets to its liabilities, indicating its financial health—exceeds certain thresholds. Specifically, a two percent COLA can be approved if the funded ratio is above a certain percentage, and subsequent COLAs can be approved as the funded ratio increases. The bill also mandates that the funded ratio must be maintained on a rolling average for at least three years and that any approved COLA cannot cause the system's funded ratio to drop below the level that initially authorized the adjustment. Furthermore, a COLA can be approved if the funded ratio exceeds eighty percent, with additional COLAs allowed for every five percent increase thereafter, and if the funded ratio exceeds one hundred percent, a COLA can be approved at any time as long as it doesn't bring the funded ratio below one hundred percent.

Budget and Finance, Labor and Employment

http://www.oklegislature.gov/BillInfo.aspx?Bill=sb172&Session=2600