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Active letter carrier COLA

Following the Dec. 17 release of the November 2014 Consumer Price Index (CPI), the accumulation toward the fifth cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for letter carriers under the 2011-2016 National Agreement was $0 annually. This COLA will be based on the increase in the CPI between July 2014 and January 2015. Under the terms of the 2011-2016 agreement, payment of this fifth cost-of-living adjustment will take effect in the second full pay period after the release of the January 2015 CPI.

Retiree COLA

The accumulation toward the 2016 cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for both Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) was 0 percent following the Dec. 17 release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for November 2014. The 2016 COLA will be based on the increase in the average CPI between the third quarter of 2013 and the third quarter of 2014.

The 2015 cost of living adjustment (COLA) for federal annuitants under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) will be 1.7 percent. This COLA was based on the increase in the average Consumer Price Index for Workers (CPI-W) between the third quarter of 2013 and the third quarter of 2014. The COLA will be included in annuity payments starting in January 2015.

CSRS annuities receive full COLAs; COLAs for FERS annuities are payable for retirees 62 and older and may be reduced by up to one percentage point from the increase in the CPI.

FECA COLA

Federal Employees Compensation Act (FECA) cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) are applicable only in cases where death or disability occurred more than one year prior to the adjustment’s effective date.

Based on the Dec. 17 release of the November 2014 Consumer Price Index (CPI), the projected accumulation toward the 2015 FECA COLA is 1 percent. The COLA will be based on the increase in the CPI between December 2013 and December 2014, and it will become effective on March 1, 2015.