# Maryland HB 1138: State Retirement and Pension System – Cost–of–Living Adjustments – Clarification

Maryland HB 1138, State Retirement and Pension System – Cost–of–Living Adjustments – Clarification, is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Catherine M. Forbes (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-14 (Approved by the Governor - Chapter 56); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-11).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-HB1138-2026RS
- As of: 2026-10-11
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Maryland HB 1138
- State: Maryland
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: State Retirement and Pension System – Cost–of–Living Adjustments – Clarification
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-02-11
- Last action: 2026-04-14, Approved by the Governor - Chapter 56
- Sponsor: Catherine M. Forbes (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: Pensions and Retirement, Consumer Price Index, Emergency Bills, Health -see also- COVID19; EnvHlth; MedCon; etc., Retirement -see also- Mandatory Retirement, Safety -see also- Occupational Safety, State Employees
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 2 (178 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 3

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Pension allowance paid monthly for life: benefit, low. The law clarifies that a State Retirement and Pension “allowance” is paid in equal monthly amounts for your lifetime. You may choose an optional payment form if your plan allows it. This rule takes effect April 14, 2026.
- Special CPI rule for 2026-2027 COLAs: benefit, low. For COLAs that take effect on July 1, 2026 and July 1, 2027, the law sets a special October 2025 CPI value. It equals the average of the September 2025 and November 2025 monthly CPI-U. Administrators use this value when computing the 2025 CPI used in the COLA rate. This rule takes effect April 14,…
- How retiree COLAs are calculated: mixed, medium. The Board of Trustees computes your yearly COLA using the annual average CPI-U for each calendar year. It subtracts the earlier year’s CPI from the later year’s, then divides by the earlier year’s CPI. The COLA rate is capped by your plan’s COLA limit. On July 1, the dollar increase is applied as c…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Catherine M. Forbes (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-04-08 | Senate | Third Reading Passed | pass | 43 | 0 | 2 |
| 2026-03-11 | House | Third Reading Passed | pass | 135 | 0 | 2 |

## Actions (12)

- 2026-04-14: Approved by the Governor - Chapter 56
- 2026-04-08: Returned Passed (House)
- 2026-04-08: Third Reading Passed (43-0) (Senate)
- 2026-04-01: Favorable Adopted Second Reading Passed (Senate)
- 2026-04-01: Favorable Report by Budget and Taxation (Senate)
- 2026-03-12: Referred Budget and Taxation (Senate)
- 2026-03-11: Third Reading Passed (135-0) (House)
- 2026-03-10: Second Reading Passed (House)
- 2026-03-10: Favorable Adopted (House)
- 2026-03-10: Favorable Report by Appropriations (House)
- 2026-02-17: Hearing 3/03 at 1:00 p.m. (House)
- 2026-02-11: First Reading Appropriations (House)

## Bill text

- Enacted, 2026-04-14: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/Chapters_noln/CH_56_hb1138t.pdf)
- Third Reading, 2026-03-10: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/hb/hb1138t.pdf)
- First Reading, 2026-02-11: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/hb/hb1138f.pdf)

## Related bills

- SB 0496: Maryland Medical Assistance Program - Coverage for the Treatment of Obesity - Authorization (became law)
- SB 0366: Motor Vehicles - Intelligent Speed Assistance System Pilot Program - Establishment (became law)
- SB 0244: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program (became law)
- SB 0148: Income Tax - Credit for 9-1-1 Specialist Retirement Income (Supporting Our 9-1-1 Specialists Act) (became law)
- SB 0016: Child Support - Earnings Withholdings Limits (became law)
- HB 0529: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program (became law)

## Sources
- [Enacted (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/Chapters_noln/CH_56_hb1138t.pdf)
- [Third Reading (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/hb/hb1138t.pdf)
- [First Reading (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/hb/hb1138f.pdf)

## Related
- [SB 0496: Maryland Medical Assistance Program - Coverage for the Treatment of Obesity - A…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0496-2026RS)
- [SB 0366: Motor Vehicles - Intelligent Speed Assistance System Pilot Program - Establishm…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0366-2026RS)
- [SB 0244: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0244-2026RS)
- [SB 0148: Income Tax - Credit for 9-1-1 Specialist Retirement Income (Supporting Our 9-1-…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0148-2026RS)
- [SB 0016: Child Support - Earnings Withholdings Limits](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0016-2026RS)
- [HB 0529: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-HB0529-2026RS)
- [Maryland bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/maryland/bills)
- [Maryland state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/maryland)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-HB1138-2026RS (as of 2026-10-11).