LB 1102, introduced by Sen. Beau Ballard, Legislative Retirement Committee Chair, will make three changes in the way that the OSERS benefits are paid:

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• All pension benefits will be credited to OSERS retirees on the first day of the month, and paid to retirees on the last working day of the month.

• Retirees eligible for the Medical COLA will receive the payment on the last working day of September starting in September, 2026 (previously the Medical COLA was paid on October 3).

• The annual COLA will be paid to retirees on the last working day of September, beginning in September, 2026 (previously it was paid in Jan/Feb).

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The changes will harmonize the payment dates for OSERS retirees with the payment dates for the other retirement plans administered by NPERS.

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If the bill passes as drafted, OSERS retirees would receive two checks in September 2026 -- one on Sept. 3 (for the August pension), and a second check on the last working day of September (for the September pension).

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To read the text for LB 1102, click here.

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Background on OSERS COLA issue (from 2025)

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OSERS retirees have received an automatic cost-of-living adjustment on January 3 every year for the past 25 years.  The COLA is authorized by Neb. Rev. Stat. 79-9,103(8), which states:

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(8) Beginning January 1, 2000, and on January 1 of every year thereafter, for employees of Class V school districts who were members prior to July 1, 2013, a cost-of-living adjustment shall be made for any formula annuity being paid pursuant to the act, or pursuant to the provisions of the retirement system established by statute for employees of Class V school districts in effect prior to September 1, 1951, and on which the first payment was dated on or before October 3 preceding such January 1 adjustment date. The cost-of-living adjustment for any such annuity shall be the lesser of (a) one and one-half percent or (b) the increase in the consumer price index from the date such annuity first became payable through the August 31 preceding the January 1 adjustment date as reduced by the aggregate cost-of-living adjustments previously made to the annuity pursuant to this section.

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The COLA payment was skipped on January 3, 2025.

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     A group of retirees attended the July 17, 2025 OPS Board of Education meeting to ask that the Board support restoring the COLA payment so that retirees receive a full calendar year of COLA increases each year. A brief history of the COLA payment was presented to the Board by one retiree.  To read the history of the annual COLA, click here.​

 

     Click on the link below to see the coverage of this meeting by KMTV. 

 https://www.3newsnow.com/central-omaha/omaha-retired-educators-speaking-out-about-major-glitch-in-retirement-payment ​

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To read the Omaha World-Herald article on the OSERS COLA issue, click here.