79-947.01 Benefits; adjustment.
79-947.01. Benefits;adjustment.(1) Beginning July 1, 2000, and eachJuly 1 thereafter, current benefits paid to a member or beneficiary shallbe adjusted so that the purchasing power of the benefit being paid is notless than seventy-five percent of the purchasing power of the initial benefit.The purchasing power of the initial benefit in any year following the yearin which the initial benefit commenced shall be calculated by dividing theUnited States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer PriceIndex for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers factor on June 30 of thecurrent year by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and ClericalWorkers factor on June 30 of the year in which the benefit commenced. Theresult shall be multiplied by the product that results when the amount ofthe initial benefit is multiplied by seventy-five percent. In any year inwhich applying the adjustment provided in subsection (2) of this section resultsin a benefit which would be less than seventy-five percent of the purchasingpower of the initial benefit as calculated above, the adjustment shall insteadbe equal to the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for Urban WageEarners and Clerical Workers factor from the prior year to the current year.In all other years, the adjustment provided under subsection (2) of this sectionshall be provided. The adjustment pursuant to this subsection shall not causea current benefit to be reduced.(2) Except as provided in subsection (1) of this section:(a) Beginning July 1, 2000, and until July 1, 2001, the currentbenefit of a member or the beneficiary of such a member shall be increasedannually by the lesser of (i) the percentage change in the Consumer PriceIndex for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers factor published by theBureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor for theprior year or (ii) two percent; and(b) Beginning July 1, 2001, the current benefit to a memberor the beneficiary of such a member shall be increased annually by the lesserof (i) the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earnersand Clerical Workers factor published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics ofthe United States Department of Labor for the prior year or (ii) two and one-halfpercent.(3) The state shall contribute to the Annuity Reserve Fundan annual level dollar payment certified by the board. For the 1996-97 fiscalyear through the 2012-13 fiscal year, the annuallevel dollar payment certified by the board shall equal 81.7873 percent ofsix million eight hundred ninety-five thousand dollars.(4) The retirement board shall adjust the annual benefitadjustment provided in this section so that the total amount of all cost-of-livingadjustments provided to the eligible retiree at the time of the annual benefitadjustment does not exceed the percentage change in the National ConsumerPrice Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers factor published bythe Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between June 30 of the prioryear to June 30 of the present year. If the consumer price index used in thissection is discontinued or replaced, a substitute index published by the UnitedStates Department of Labor shall be selected by the board which shall be areasonable representative measurement of the cost of living for retired employees.(5) In addition to the adjustments provided in subsections(1), (2), and (4) of this section, the current benefit to a member or beneficiaryof such member, and for which the first payment was dated on or before June30, 2007, shall be subject to adjustment of the greater of (a) the annuitypayable to the member or beneficiary as adjusted, if applicable, under theprovisions of subsection (1), (2), or (4) of this section or (b) eighty-fivepercent of the annuity which results when the original annuity that was paidto the member or beneficiary, before any cost-of-living adjustments underthis section, is adjusted by the increase in the Consumer Price Index forUrban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers for the period between the commencementdate of the annuity and June 30, 2007. SourceLaws 1996, LB 700, § 7; Laws 1999, LB 674, § 5; Laws 2001, LB 711, § 3; Laws 2004, LB 1097, § 27; Laws 2007, LB596, § 1; Laws 2008, LB1147, § 9; Laws 2010, LB950, § 15.Operative Date: July 1, 2010