A ‘diet COLA’ for FERS retirees has compounding effects on retirement savings

Federal retirees were feverishly hitting the refresh button on their internet browsers the morning of Oct. 12 as they awaited the Social Security Administration’s announcement of next year’s cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).
The anticipation to see the percentage for that 2024 COLA was no surprise. The annual adjustment, intended to keep retirees on pace with inflation, means gradually growing numbers for federal retirement annuities and Social Security checks.
But some federal retirees will not see that full percentage adjustment added to their annuities in January.
When the federal government switched from the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) to the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) back in the 1980s, Congress opted to change the COLA calculation for FERS annuitants.
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