Budget Agreement Reached; Retirement COLAs Trimmed

Military retirees will receive smaller cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs), under the budget agreement reached by the Democratic-led Senate and Republican-led House Dec. 10. Under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013, working-age military retirees would receive COLAs that equal inflation minus one percent. Service members who retire because of disability or injury would not be affected. The planned reductions would be phased in. COLAs that take effect in December 2014 would be decreased .25 percent, and .5 percent in December 2015.