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.