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Actuary: recent ad‑hoc COLA bill wouldn’t automatically change Upper Darby pension plan
Summary
The board asked whether a recently passed ad‑hoc COLA bill for municipal police retirees would apply to Upper Darby retirees; the actuary said one‑time payments in the statute would not automatically alter the township’s pension plan and that any change would require plan amendment or collective bargaining.
Trustees asked for clarification about a recently discussed one‑time cost‑of‑living adjustment (COLA) measure for municipal police retirees during the July 13 meeting. The actuary told the board the measure described in discussion is an ad‑hoc COLA (a one‑time payment) and does not automatically change the pension plan’s ongoing COLA provisions.
The actuary said the fund’s existing COLA structure provides a path for officers hired after 2001 to receive an annual COLA until their pension reaches 62% of pay; members hired before 2001 already begin at a higher percentage. "That law does not take place and impact your plan automatically," the actuary said, explaining that applying similar one‑time payments to plan members would require amending the plan and could become a subject of collective bargaining.
A trustee summarized the bill in the meeting as offering tiered one‑time payments for retirees with different service brackets; the actuary cautioned that the statute’s one‑time payments are separate from the plan’s ongoing COLA mechanism and that plan sponsors would need to adopt amendments or negotiate changes for them to apply.
The board did not vote on any COLA change. Trustees and the actuary said implementation would require formal plan amendment or bargaining before any payments could be applied to the Upper Darby plan.
