Council Supports COLA Base Increase for City of Boston Retirees

The cost of living in Boston increased in 2024 by 2.5 percent above the prior year, with the largest increases found in transportation, food, and housing.

Massachusetts Chapter 188 of the Acts of 2010 allows each retirement board to increase its members' Cost-of-Living-Adjustment (COLA) base as it sees fit. Earlier this month, the Boston Retirement Board did not vote in favor of the COLA base increase that retirees and many members of the Council have been advocating for over two years.

Many retirees are on fixed incomes, and according to a resolution offered by Councilors Weber, Santana and Flynn, these retirees “dedicated many years of service as municipal employees and contributed their hard-earned money to the retirement system in hopes that they could live comfortably after their service to our City.”

The Council adopted a resolution in support of a COLA base increase for the City of Boston retirees, and will continue to advocate for retirees to receive the three percent annual COLA increase in addition to a base increase from $15,000 to $18,000 that they have been asking for.