HARRISBURG, PA – Eligible retirees of the Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS) will receive their new regular monthly pension payments in October reflecting their cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). September’s payments were higher because they included the new COLA-adjusted monthly benefit amount plus the retroactive COLA increase for July and August.
The October payments for the more than 30,000 eligible retirees will reflect the ongoing monthly pension benefit they will receive going forward.
The COLA went into effect July 1, 2026, for all eligible members who retired on or before July 1, 2001. Gov. Josh Shapiro and the General Assembly approved the adjustment as part of the Commonwealth’s 2026-27 budget package.
“Our employees worked hard to ensure eligible retirees received their cost-of-living adjustments accurately and in a timely manner,” said PSERS Executive Director Uri Monson. “Although October’s payments will be different from September’s, we want our members to know their COLA increase remains part of their regular monthly pension benefit.”
Following approximately $25.4 million in additional pension benefits distributed in September, the COLA will provide about $8.46 million in additional benefits each month going forward.
With the COLA, retirees will receive an average monthly pension benefit of $1,895.67, an increase of $279.43 from the previous $1,616.24. The median monthly pension payment will increase to $1,769.74 from $1,505.67 before the adjustment.
In addition to the approximately $7.7 billion in pension benefits PSERS members already receive annually, the COLA is expected to provide about $104 million in additional pension benefits during the 2026-27 fiscal year.
The COLA adjustment is also reflected in PSERS’ maps, which provide information on membership and benefit payment data across Pennsylvania by county, Senate district and House of Representatives district.
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About the Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System
PSERS, founded in 1917, began operations in 1919 to oversee a statewide defined benefit pension plan for public school employees. PSERS' role expanded upon the passage of Act 5 of 2017 to include oversight of two new benefit options consisting of defined benefit and defined contribution (DC) components and a stand-alone DC plan. As of June 30, 2025, PSERS had a total net position of about $83.7 billion and a membership of about 262,000 active, 255,000 annuitants and beneficiaries, and 26,000 vested inactive members.