The count toward the January 2026 federal retirement COLA stands at 0.1 percent through three months. Image: Shoaib_Mughal/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffThe COLA count for beneficiaries under the Federal Employees Compensation Act has been finalized, with a 2.8 percent COLA to be paid with April payments in that program.
The COLA for FECA beneficiaries uses the same inflation indicator as the COLA for federal retirement benefits, although the timing is different. The former program calculates its adjustment on a calendar year basis while the latter is calculated on a fiscal year basis.
In both cases, the figure is based on the change in the average of a three-month period—October-December for FECA and July-September for federal retirement—from one year to the next, and the adjustment is paid three months after the calculation is finalized.
The count toward the January 2026 federal retirement COLA stands at 0.1 percent through three months.
Workers Compensation Benefits for Federal Employees
The Federal Employees Compensation Act (FECA) provides workers compensation benefits to federal employees who sustain job-related injuries or illnesses. The law also guarantees employees certain job rights upon recovery. Upon their return to work, employees will be treated as though they had never left for purposes of rights and benefits based upon length of service.
The law assigns a dual responsibility to the Department of Labor’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) and to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). OPM administers the restoration rights provision of the law. OWCP administers all other aspects of the law.
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See also,
Calculating Service Credit for Sick Leave At Retirement
FERS Supplement vs The 10% Pension Bonus
How Your FERS, Social Security and TSP Payments Get Taxed
Where Should I Put My TSP in Retirement
