This text of Nebraska § 79-947.06 (Members prior to July 1, 2013; annual benefit
adjustment; cost-of-living adjustment calculation method) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nebraska primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.
On July 1 of each year,
for school employees who became members prior to July 1, 2013:
(1)The board shall determine the number of retired
members or beneficiaries described in subdivision (4)(b) of this section in
the retirement system and an annual benefit adjustment shall be made by the
board for each retired member or beneficiary under one of the cost-of-living
adjustment calculation methods found in subdivision (2), (3), or (4)
of this section. Each retired member or beneficiary, if eligible, shall receive
an annual benefit adjustment under the cost-of-living adjustment calculation
method that provides the retired member or beneficiary the greatest annual
benefit adjustment increase. No retired member or beneficiary shall receive
an annual benefit adjustment under more than one of the
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On July 1 of each year,
for school employees who became members prior to July 1, 2013:
(1) The board shall determine the number of retired
members or beneficiaries described in subdivision (4)(b) of this section in
the retirement system and an annual benefit adjustment shall be made by the
board for each retired member or beneficiary under one of the cost-of-living
adjustment calculation methods found in subdivision (2), (3), or (4)
of this section. Each retired member or beneficiary, if eligible, shall receive
an annual benefit adjustment under the cost-of-living adjustment calculation
method that provides the retired member or beneficiary the greatest annual
benefit adjustment increase. No retired member or beneficiary shall receive
an annual benefit adjustment under more than one of the cost-of-living adjustment
calculation methods provided in this section;
(2) The current benefit paid to a retired member or beneficiary
under this subdivision shall be adjusted
so that the purchasing power of the benefit being paid is not less than seventy-five
percent of the purchasing power of the initial benefit. The purchasing power
of the initial benefit in any year following the year in which the initial
benefit commenced shall be calculated by dividing the United States Department
of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage
Earners and Clerical Workers factor on June 30 of the current year by the
Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers factor on
June 30 of the year in which the benefit commenced. The result shall be multiplied
by the product that results when the amount of the initial benefit is multiplied
by seventy-five percent. In any year in which applying the adjustment provided
in subdivision (3) of this section
results in a benefit which would be less than seventy-five percent of the
purchasing power of the initial benefit as calculated in this subdivision, the
adjustment shall instead be equal to the percentage change in the Consumer
Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers factor from the prior
year to the current year;
(3) The current benefit paid to a retired member or beneficiary
under this subdivision shall be increased
annually by the lesser of (a) the percentage change in the Consumer Price
Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers for the period between June
30 of the prior year to June 30 of the present year or (b) two and one-half
percent;
(4)(a) The current benefit paid to a retired member or beneficiary
under subdivision (4) of this section shall
be calculated by multiplying the retired member's or beneficiary's total monthly
benefit by the lesser of (i) the cumulative change in the Consumer Price Index
for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers from the last adjustment of the
total monthly benefit of each retired member or beneficiary through June 30
of the year for which the annual benefit adjustment is being calculated or
(ii) an amount equal to three percent per annum compounded for the period
from the last adjustment of the total monthly benefit of each retired member
or beneficiary through June 30 of the year for which the annual benefit adjustment
is being calculated.
(b) In order for a retired member or beneficiary to receive
the cost-of-living adjustment calculation method provided in subdivision (4) of this section, the retired
member or beneficiary shall be (i) a retired member or beneficiary who has
been receiving a retirement benefit for at least five years if the member
had at least twenty-five years of creditable service, (ii) a member who has
been receiving a disability retirement benefit for at least five years pursuant
to section 79-952 , or (iii) a beneficiary who has been receiving a death benefit
pursuant to section 79-956 for at least five years, if the member's or beneficiary's
monthly accrual rate is less than or equal to the minimum accrual rate as
determined by subdivision (4) of this section.
(c) The monthly accrual rate under subdivision (4) of this section is the retired
member's or beneficiary's total monthly benefit divided by the number of years
of creditable service earned by the retired or deceased member.
(d) The total monthly benefit under subdivision (4) of this section is the total
benefit received by a retired member or beneficiary pursuant to the School
Employees Retirement Act and previous adjustments made pursuant to this section
or any other provision of the act that grants a benefit or cost-of-living
increase, but the total monthly benefit shall not include sums received by
an eligible retired member or eligible beneficiary from federal sources.
(e) Beginning July 1, 2010, the minimum accrual
rate under this subsection was twenty-four dollars and eleven cents. Beginning
July 1, 2011, the minimum accrual rate under this subsection was twenty-five
dollars and nine cents. Beginning July 1, 2012, the minimum accrual rate under
this subsection was twenty-five dollars and forty-nine cents. Beginning July
1, 2013, the board shall annually adjust the minimum accrual rate
to reflect the cumulative percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for
Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers from the last adjustment of the minimum
accrual rate;
(5) Each retired member or beneficiary shall receive
the sum of the annual benefit adjustment and such retiree's total monthly
benefit less withholding, which sum shall be the retired member's or beneficiary's
adjusted total monthly benefit. Each retired member or beneficiary shall receive
the adjusted total monthly benefit until the expiration of the annuity option
selected by the member or until the retired member or beneficiary again qualifies
for the annual benefit adjustment, whichever occurs first;
(6) The annual benefit adjustment pursuant to this section
shall not cause a current benefit to be reduced, and a retired member or beneficiary
shall never receive less than the adjusted total monthly benefit until the
annuity option selected by the member expires; and
(7) The board shall adjust the annual benefit adjustment
provided in this section so that the cost-of-living adjustment provided to
the retired member or beneficiary at the time of the annual benefit adjustment
does not exceed the change in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners
and Clerical Workers for the period between June 30 of the prior year to June
30 of the present year. If the consumer price index used in this section is
discontinued or replaced, a substitute index published by the United States
Department of Labor shall be selected by the board which shall be a reasonable
representative measurement of the cost of living for retired employees.