Retirement Board approves 3% cost-of-living adjustment for fiscal 2027.
Gardner Contributory Retirement Board approves 3 percent fiscal 2027 COLA above Social Security increase. Board Chairperson Denise Merriam and members Robert Newton, David Walsh, Jacob Cormier, and Jacqueline Leger unanimously voted the adjustment, exceeding the 2.8 percent Social Security increase
Retirement Board · Meeting of January 27, 2026
Gardner Contributory Retirement Board approves 3 percent fiscal 2027 COLA above Social Security increase. Board Chairperson Denise Merriam and members Robert Newton, David Walsh, Jacob Cormier, and Jacqueline Leger unanimously voted the adjustment, exceeding the 2.8 percent Social Security increase for the year. The board approved Warrant 01/26 totaling $643,500, which included $643,400 in pension and benefit payments.
Merriam was re-elected Chairperson for the one-year term February 1, 2026 through January 31, 2027, and the board granted superannuation retirement benefits to John Smith, Option B, effective December 1, 2025.
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Source: the Retirement Board meeting of January 27, 2026, compiled from the official minutes.
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