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Warning! Many SERS members have recently received unsolicited, potentially misleading emails from companies not affiliated with SERS offering retirement counseling. These emails may appear to come from SERS or appear to represent SERS, they do not. SERS encourages members to be cautious of email solicitations and skeptical of any attempts by outside firms to request personal or financial information. SERS will NEVER contact you asking for personal information. If you are within a year of retirement and need an appointment, you can request an appointment by emailing SERS@srs.illinois.gov or by calling (217) 785-7444.

Tier 2 Retirement

Fact Sheets

Active Member

Retiree & Survivor

Salary Limitations/Cola Increase

In accordance with state law, the Department of Insurance (DOI) is to annually determine certain annuity limitations for use in benefit determinations by the Retirement Systems and Pension Funds operating under the Illinois Pension Code. The calculations include:

The retirement Cost of Living Adjustment ("COLA") applicable to Tier 2 participants, and

  • The annual salary maximum applicable to Tier 2 participants.
  • The annual increase to be used in determining the COLA for Tier 2 is derived from the change in the Consumer Price Index-Urban ("CPI-U") for the 12 months ending with the September proceeding each November 1. State statute requires that the DOI provide these calculations to impacted Retirement Systems and pension Funds by November 1 of each year.

For the State Employees' Retirement System (SERS) the annuity COLA and the increase in the annual salary maximum equals the lesser of 3% or half the CPI-U. The following table outlines the COLA to be applied and the maximum salary for Tier 2 annuity purposes by calendar year.

Calendar Year Prior Year CPI-U 1/2 CPI-U Tier 2 COLA or Annuity increase Tier 2 Annual Earnings, Salary or Wadges Maximum

2011

n/a

n/a

3.00 %

$106,800.00

2012

3.90%

1.95 %

3.00 %

$110,004.00

2013

2.00%

1.00 %

2.00 %

$112,204.08

2014

1.20%

0.60 %

1.20 %

$113,550.53

2015

1.70%

0.85 %

1.70 %

$115,480.89

2016

0.00%

0.00 %

0.00 %

$115,480.89

2017

1.50%

0.75 %

1.50 %

$117,213.10

2018

2.20%

1.10 %

2.20 %

$119,791.79

2019

2.30%

1.15 %

2.30 %

$122,547.00

2020

1.70%

0.85 %

1.70 %

$124,630.30

2021

1.40%

0.70 %

1.40 %

$126,375.12

2022

5.40%

2.70 %

3.00 %

$130,166.37

2023

8.20%

3.00 %

3.00 %

$134,071.36

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