# Maryland SB 0724: State Retirement and Pension System - Cost-of-Living Adjustments - Clarification

Maryland SB 0724, State Retirement and Pension System - Cost-of-Living Adjustments - Clarification, is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Karen Lewis Young (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-14 (Approved by the Governor - Chapter 55); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-11).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0724-2026RS
- As of: 2026-10-11
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Maryland SB 0724
- State: Maryland
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: State Retirement and Pension System - Cost-of-Living Adjustments - Clarification
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-02-06
- Last action: 2026-04-14, Approved by the Governor - Chapter 55
- Sponsor: Karen Lewis Young (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 (174 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 3

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- One-time CPI fix for 2026-27 COLAs: benefit, low. For the 2025 CPI, October 2025 is set as the average of September and November 2025 CPI values. This feeds the COLA rate used for increases on July 1, 2026 and July 1, 2027. The rule takes effect April 14, 2026.
- Your state pension pays monthly for life: benefit, low. Your state retirement allowance is paid in equal monthly amounts for life. A different payment form applies only if you chose an optional form under the plan. This clarification takes effect April 14, 2026.
- How retiree COLA is calculated: mixed, medium. The Board calculates your annual COLA using the U.S. CPI-U city average (all items, annual, not seasonally adjusted). The rate equals (last year’s CPI minus the CPI two years earlier) divided by the CPI two years earlier. Any COLA cap in law still applies. On July 1, your increase is the COLA rate…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Karen Lewis Young (Democratic), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-12 | House | Third Reading Passed | pass | 130 | 0 | 5 |
| 2026-03-03 | Senate | Third Reading Passed | pass | 44 | 0 |   |

## Actions (13)

- 2026-04-14: Approved by the Governor - Chapter 55
- 2026-03-13: Returned Passed (Senate)
- 2026-03-12: Third Reading Passed (130-0) (House)
- 2026-03-10: Second Reading Passed (House)
- 2026-03-10: Favorable Adopted (House)
- 2026-03-10: Favorable Report by Appropriations (House)
- 2026-03-04: Referred Appropriations (House)
- 2026-03-03: Third Reading Passed (44-0) (Senate)
- 2026-02-27: Second Reading Passed (Senate)
- 2026-02-27: Favorable Adopted (Senate)
- 2026-02-26: Favorable Report by Budget and Taxation (Senate)
- 2026-02-11: Hearing 2/19 at 9:00 a.m. (Senate)
- 2026-02-06: First Reading Budget and Taxation (Senate)

## Bill text

- Enacted, 2026-04-14: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/Chapters_noln/CH_55_sb0724t.pdf)
- Third Reading, 2026-02-27: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/sb/sb0724t.pdf)
- First Reading, 2026-02-06: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/sb/sb0724f.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_55_sb0724t.pdf)
- [Third Reading (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/sb/sb0724t.pdf)
- [First Reading (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/sb/sb0724f.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-SB0724-2026RS (as of 2026-10-11).