a. On or before October 1, 1977 and by the same date in each subsequent year, the Director of the Division of Pensions shall review the index and determine the percentum of change in the index from the benefit year index. In determining the percentum of change the director shall use the index for the year ending the August 31 prior to the date of review, dividing such index by the benefit year index and then subtracting 100% from the resulting quotient expressed to the nearest 1/100 of 1%. The percentage of adjustment shall be 3/5 of the percentum of change. Any adjustment so calculated shall apply to all of the months of the following calendar year for eligible retirants and beneficiaries, except for those qualifying for the first time, it shall apply only to those months of the following calendar year in which the retirant or beneficiary is eligible to receive the adjustment.

The director shall include (a) in his corpus appropriation request for the administration of the act on behalf of those retirants and beneficiaries for whom the State assumes the costs attributable to this act, and, (b) in his certification of amounts due from each employer in accordance with section 4 of the Pension Adjustment Act, amounts sufficient to adjust the retirement allowances, survivorship benefits or pensions payable to all eligible retirants and beneficiaries by 3/5 of the percentum of change in the index as such retirement allowances, survivorship benefits or pensions may have been originally granted, or increased for certain retirants or beneficiaries in accordance with section 3 of the Pension Adjustment Act. In no instance shall the amount of the retirement allowance or pension originally granted and payable to any retirant be reduced as a result of the adjustment made pursuant to the provisions of P.L.1969, c. 169.

b. For purposes of this act a “retirant” shall mean any retirant who has or shall have received a retirement allowance or pension for no less than 24 months and a “beneficiary” shall mean any beneficiary who has or shall have received for no less than 24 months a pension, or survivorship benefit, or whose increased pension pursuant to the provisions of the statutes stipulated in subsection d(4) of section 1 of the act to which this act is an amendment (C. 43:3B-1). In the case of beneficiaries, all or any part of the 24 month period shall include the period in which the retirant was entitled to receive his retirement allowance or pension.

L.1969, c. 169, s. 6. Amended by L.1971, c. 139, s. 8, eff. May 12, 1971; L.1975, c. 375, s. 5, eff. March 3, 1976; L.1977, c. 306, s. 4, eff. Dec. 27, 1977.