For the first time since 1971, State retirees will not receive a COLA for the upcoming year.  Coverage can be found in the Baltimore Sun and Annapolis Capital.

Retirement payments were actually set to drop slightly in lockstep with the Consumer Price Index, a common measure of inflation that fell in 2009 after rising for more than half a century. Instead, the General Assembly decided to hold the benefits steady and plans to subtract from any increase next year the amount added this year to make up for deflation.