BALTIMORE — Eligible retirees and beneficiaries of the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System will notice an increase in their monthly allowance beginning in July as the 2026 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) takes effect.
This year’s COLA rate is 2.698%. The System’s total investment performance for the calendar year ending on Dec. 31, 2025 (+13.33%), exceeded the 6.8% assumed rate of investment return established by the Board of Trustees. Therefore, the statutory rate cap for the portion of an allowance based on creditable service earned on or after July 1, 2011, is 2.5% for many payees.
About the COLA formula…