Fedweek

The inflation index used to determine the January 2017 federal retiree COLA gained 0.1 percentage point in January but still is in negative territory at -1.4 percent, following drops in the first three months of the measure. If the final count finishes negative, benefits will be frozen but not reduced–a scenario that has occurred three times in recent years, most recently resulting in no adjustment being paid this year in federal retirement, Social Security and several other benefits programs using the same calculation method.