RETIREMENT BENEFIT INFORMATION

Retirement Checks | Direct Deposit | Cost-of-Living Adjustments

RETIREMENT CHECKS, DIRECT DEPOSIT
AND ELECTRONIC FUND TRANSFER

• Fact Sheet #64, About Your Retirement Check — general information about your benefit payment Adobe PDF (51K)
  
  
• Retirement Check Mailing and EFT Dates — see the current schedule.

START OR CHANGE DIRECT DEPOSIT

• Use MBOS to authorize or change your Direct Deposit online. (MBOS registration required)
  Log On or Register for MBOS - Find out more about Direct Deposit and MBOS!
  
  
• Use the Automated Information System at (609) 777-1777 to make account or bank changes to your existing Direct Deposit authorization. Now with enhanced Interactive Voice Response technology, available 24 hours-a-day! 7 days-a-week! Find out More!
  
  
• Authorization of Direct Deposit of Benefit Payment Form Adobe PDF (29K)
  
  
• Find out more about Direct Deposit and Electronic Fund Transfer.

TAX INFORMATION

• Get information about your benefit and income tax — including fact sheets, tax tables, federal and New Jersey State withholding forms, and information about your Form 1099-R.

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COST-OF-LIVING ADJUSTMENTS

SUSPENSION OF COST-OF-LIVING ADJUSTMENTS

Chapter 78, P.L. 2011, the Pension and Health Benefit Reform Law, suspended future Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLA) for all retirees of all retirement systems. This suspension is effective for benefit payments made as of August 1, 2011.

It is important to note that the law does not reduce any COLA increases made to retiree benefits prior to the effective date of the law. The amount of money a retiree or benefit recipient currently receives each month will not be reduced by this law.

Chapter 78 also provides for the establishment of Pension Committees which may consider reinstating the COLA when the retirement systems reach “target funded ratios” established by the law. At that time, the Pension Committees are to give the reactivation of the COLA priority consideration.

“Target funded ratio” means a ratio of the value of assets against the accrued liabiliites of 75% and increasing annually by equal increments over seven fiscal years to a ratio of 80%.

COST-OF-LIVING-ADJUSTMENT INFORMATION

• Chapter 78, P.L. 2011 suspended all future Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLA); however, COLA recipients who retired before 2008 may see a slight increase to the 2012 COLA amount due to the removal of the COLA offset amount applied in 2011.

• For COLA amounts paid in 2011 (January 1, 2011 to June 28, 2011 — prior to the suspension under Chapter 78, P.L. 2011), an "offset calculation" was used.
  
  
• For benefit recipients who retired in 2008 and 2009 there was no offset in 2011 since no COLA was paid in 2010.
  
  
• For COLA calculation factors and additional information about the "offset calculation" see the Cost-of-Living Adjustment Chart.
  
  
• For general information about pension benefits and COLA see Fact Sheet #18, Cost-of-Living Adjustments. Adobe PDF (29K)
  
  
• For additional information about the Consumer Price Index visit the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics at: http://stats.bls.gov/

*The Division of Pensions and Benefits uses the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), U.S. City Average, All Items, 1982-84=100.  The rate of increase is equal to 60 percent of the percentage of change between the average CPI for the calendar year in which a member retired and the average CPI for the 12-month period ending August 31st immediately preceding the year when the adjustment is payable.

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