Cost-of-living adjustments apply to deferred pensions, survivor pensions, disability pensions and retirement pensions.

If you defer the start of your pension, your first pension payment will reflect changes in the cost of living from the time you left employment in education to the time you begin to collect your pension. This means your pension maintains its purchasing power until you decide to start your pension.

There are two components to inflation protection:

1. The portion of your pension credit earned until the end of 2009 is 100% protected against increases in the cost of living, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
   
   
2. The level of inflation protection provided for the portion of your pension credit earned after 2009 will depend on the funded status of the plan. Annual cost-of-living increases for pension credit earned after 2009 will be between 50% and 100% of the change in CPI, depending on the plan’s funding position.

For more details, read:
Protection for Members Who Retired Before 2010
Protection for Members Who Retire After 2009