A. For purposes of this section the following definitions shall apply:

1. "Initial COLA Benefit Date" means the later of the member's date of benefit commencement or January 1, 1981. This date is used in the definition of Initial COLA Benefit and Target COLA Benefit;

2. "Initial COLA Benefit" means the accrued retirement benefit which will be used as the base benefit for determining the Target COLA Benefit. The Initial COLA Benefit equals the benefit in payment status as of the Initial COLA Benefit Date. Furthermore, this benefit will reflect adjustment for military service credits, if any, granted after the Initial COLA Benefit Date;

3. "CPI-U" means the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers for all goods and services, as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. This is used as a measure of price inflation for the development of the Target COLA Benefit defined below; and

4. "Target COLA Benefit" is the Initial COLA Benefit adjusted to reflect price inflation as measured by CPI-U. The Target COLA Benefit is calculated for each eligible member to equal the member's Initial COLA Benefit multiplied by a ratio of (A) divided by (B) as follows:

(A) is the CPI-U as of July 1, 1997.

(B) is the CPI-U as of July 1 of the calendar year of the Initial COLA Benefit Date.

B. The Board shall, effective July 1, 1998, implement a benefit adjustment, to increase, if necessary, the retirement benefit for any person receiving benefits from the System as of June 30, 1997. This benefit adjustment is intended to restore one hundred percent (100%) of the loss of the Initial COLA Benefit, if any, due to price inflation, as measured by CPI-U. The benefit adjustment shall be one hundred percent (100%) of the amount by which the Target COLA Benefit is in excess, if any, of the June 1998 retirement benefit.

Persons who retired after December 31, 1996 and before July 1, 1997, shall receive a benefit increase based on one-half (1/2) of the CPI-U change for the period beginning January 1, 1997 and before July 1, 1997.

C. Any increase in benefits a person is eligible to receive pursuant to subsection B of Section 2-305 of Title 47 of the Oklahoma Statutes, after June 30, 1998, shall be offset by the increase in benefits, if any, provided by this section.

Added by Laws 1998, c. 317, § 4, eff. July 1, 1998.