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SEANC / Retiree Resources / Why No COLA? / The COLA Calculator
An Interactive Tool

The COLA calculator. See what's really at stake.

Move the sliders below. See what a permanent cost-of-living adjustment would mean for your monthly pension, what it's worth over the long run, and how it compares to receiving the same percentage as a one-time bonus.

Personalized projection

Your pension, with a permanent COLA.

$ 2,500
$500 $6,000
2.0 %
0.5% 5%
Your monthly check increases by
$50.00
Every month, for the rest of your life
Over 10 years: COLA vs. one-time bonus
If it's a one-time bonus $600
A single check, then it's gone
If it's a permanent COLA $6,000
Compounds every year, paid for life
10×
A permanent COLA at this level is worth roughly 10 times more than the same percentage delivered as a one-time bonus — over the projection period you chose.
What this would cost the system: A 2.0% COLA for all TSERS retirees would cost the state approximately $1.17B (recurring, annually). That's based on the official $586.7M estimate for a 1% COLA from the December 2024 TSERS actuarial valuation, scaled linearly. It's a significant figure — and a fraction of one percent of the state budget.
A few notes on the math

How this calculator works.

The projection is conservative.

The cumulative COLA figure assumes no further COLAs over the projection period. In reality, future COLAs would compound on top of the first one, making the gap with a one-time bonus even larger.

The bonus comparison is generous.

The "one-time bonus" figure here is calculated as the same percentage applied to your annual pension — the most favorable possible interpretation. Real-world bonuses have sometimes been smaller than this.

The system cost scales linearly.

The official 2024 actuarial valuation puts a 1% COLA at $586.7M recurring. This tool scales that figure proportionally. The actuaries' exact estimate for higher percentages may vary slightly.

Inflation isn't included.

The projection shows nominal dollars, not inflation-adjusted ones. In real purchasing-power terms, a COLA that simply matches inflation isn't an increase — it's just not falling further behind.

Keep reading

The full case.

Start Here

Why No COLA? The Real Story.

The structural explanation: the three-legged stool of your pension, what's gone wrong with each leg, and who's responsible.

Read the explainer
The Evidence

45 Years of COLAs

Every retiree raise from 1981 to 2026 in a single chart. The pattern speaks for itself — and the 2009 break is impossible to miss.

See the chart
Your Loss

How Much Has Your Pension Lost?

This calculator shows what a real COLA would put back. The buying-power tool shows what's already been taken — year by year, in real dollars.

See your loss

Take these numbers to Raleigh.

You now know what a real COLA would be worth — to you, and to the legislature's budget. Make them hear it.

Contact Your Legislators Back to Retiree Resources