Colorado FPPA Occupationally Disabled Retirees for Fair COLAs
Injured in the Line of Duty. Left Behind by Rising Costs.
Colorado's occupationally disabled FPPA retirees — firefighters and law enforcement officers injured while serving their communities — have been denied fair cost-of-living adjustments while the cost of living has surged 36.5% since 2015.
- 36.5% — Projected increase in Colorado's cost of living from 2015 to 2025
- Less than $9 — Total Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) received by certain retirees since 2017
- 100% — Funded ratio of the FPPA Statewide Retirement Plan as of January 1, 2025
- $8.1 Billion — Total assets managed by the FPPA
Our Mission
We are a growing group of retired public safety professionals living with occupational disabilities — firefighters, law enforcement officers, and their supporters — united in advocating for fair, consistent cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for those who were medically retired due to duty-related injuries.
This initiative brings together injured retirees and their allies to raise awareness, share accurate information, and demand meaningful policy reform. The cost of living in Colorado has surged approximately 36.5% between 2015 and 2025 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025). Yet some occupationally disabled retirees have received only one COLA of less than $7 (0.22%) since 2017. Meanwhile, the costs of housing, healthcare, and daily essentials continue to rise.
Our mission is to unite and empower members, educate the public, and urge Colorado lawmakers and FPPA leadership to revise outdated policies that have left many behind. Together, our voices are stronger — and more necessary than ever.
"Every active-duty firefighter and police officer lives one call away from a career-ending injury. If current policies don't protect today's injured retirees, tomorrow's injured heroes will face the same neglect."
— Colorado FPPA Occupationally Disabled Retirees for Fair COLAs
Understanding FPPA’s Position
Like many FPPA retirees, we are increasingly disheartened as the years pass without receiving cost-of-living adjustments. Despite repeated outreach, FPPA staff and board members have consistently offered the same explanation — a position that has remained largely unchanged.
The Statewide Death & Disability (D&D) Plan, established in the 1970s, provides 50% of pre-disability earnings to members classified as occupationally disabled. FPPA assumes these individuals can still work in some capacity and therefore excludes them from COLA eligibility. Only those deemed totally disabled — unable to work in any capacity — qualify for fixed COLA increases.
In 2025, FPPA reaffirmed this stance, citing a reported $58.5 million shortfall in the D&D Plan and concerns that expanding COLAs would increase financial strain.
However, this policy ignores a critical reality: being classified as occupationally disabled — regardless of one's theoretical capacity to pursue alternative employment — should not disqualify a retiree from fair cost-of-living adjustments. Inflation continues to erode the value of these fixed benefits equally, regardless of how the FPPA categorizes a member's disability status. It is also worth asking whether the standard the Board applies to injured retirees is one it applies equally to its own compensation decisions.
Funded Ratios
FPPA Funded Ratios — As of January 1, 2025
Source: FPPA official website. The Funded Ratio measures a pension fund's assets as a percentage of liabilities and its ability to pay all promised benefits.
| Plan | Funded Ratio | Status |
| Statewide Retirement Plan | 100% | Fully Funded |
| Statewide Death & Disability Plan (covers occupationally disabled retirees) | 91.4% | Reasonably Healthy |
| Colorado Springs New Hire ā Fire Component | 84.5% | |
| Colorado Springs New Hire ā Police Component | 88.6% |
A 91.4% funded ratio for the Death & Disability Plan is not an indicator of a fund in crisis. Many public pension funds nationwide operate at comparable or lower levels. By pension industry standards, this represents a reasonably healthy financial position — and the Statewide Retirement Plan, which covers the broader membership, is fully funded at 100%.
What FPPA Says vs. What the Record Shows
What FPPA Leadership States
- The D&D Plan has $58.5 million in liabilities exceeding current assets as of January 1, 2025.
- Current contribution rates fall short of the plan's current cost.
- Paying COLAs would "place additional financial strain" on the plan and is "imprudent" given current funded status.
- Occupationally disabled members are assumed to retain the ability to work and therefore do not require the same COLA protections.
What the Public Record Shows
- FPPA reported $845 million in net investment gains in 2023. (Source: FPPA Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, 2024)
- The system currently manages over $8.1 billion in total assets. (Source: FPPA Annual Report, 2024)
- The Statewide Retirement Plan is 100% funded as of January 1, 2025. (Source: FPPA website)
- Total tracked staff compensation grew from $4.7 million in 2022 to over $9.1 million in 2024.
- The FPPA Board approved retention bonuses equal to 20% of base salary annually for executive leadership for five consecutive years (2022–2026). (Source: FPPA Board Minutes, December 12, 2024)
- In 2025, the FPPA personnel budget totaled $9.68 million for 68 full-time employees. (Source: FPPA Directors Meeting Report, June 2025)
Executive Compensation Table
Top Compensated Roles & Organizational Compensation — 2022 Through 2025
Between 2022 and 2025 — the same period during which occupationally disabled retirees with fewer than 15 years on benefit received no cost-of-living adjustment — the two highest compensated FPPA positions received a combined total of over $4 million in salary and incentive compensation. The table below reflects the annual figures that make up that four-year total.
| Year | Top Compensated Role | Base Salary | Bonus / Incentive | Bonus % | Total Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Chief Investment Officer | $348,000 | $71,031 | 20.4% | $419,031 |
| 2023 | Chief Investment Officer | $364,000 | $141,375 | 38.8% | $505,375 |
| 2024 | Executive Director | $403,000 | $161,200 | 40.0% | $564,200 |
| 2025 | Executive Director | $455,000 | $249,208 | 54.8% | $704,208 |
| 2022-2025 | 4-Year Growth (Top Role) | +30.7% | +251.0% | ā | +68.1% |
The top compensated role shifted from Chief Investment Officer (2022–2023) to Executive Director (2024–2025). Bonus growth of +251.0% reflects the increase from the highest bonus paid in 2022 ($71,031) to the highest bonus paid in 2025 ($249,208). All figures are drawn from public records: CORA Request (July 14, 2025; September 23, 2025) and FPPA Board Minutes.
Bonus & Incentive Trends (2022–2025)
Between 2022 and 2025 — the same four years during which occupationally disabled retirees with fewer than 15 years on benefit received no cost-of-living adjustment — FPPA distributed $25,294,449 in total staff compensation to an organization of approximately 68 full-time employees, including $2,717,336 in bonuses and incentive pay. In 2024 alone, $556,540 in incentive bonuses was distributed among just 15 employees — representing approximately 21% of total staff. Over that same four-year period, Colorado's cost of living rose 36.5%.
| Year | Positions Tracked | Total Base Salary | Total Bonus / Incentive | Total Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 30 | $4,297,372 | $404,874 | $4,702,246 |
| 2023 | 24 | $3,684,166 | $616,385 | $4,300,551 |
| 2024 | 70 | $8,567,833 | $556,540 | $9,124,373 |
| 2025 | 36 | $6,027,742 | $1,139,537 | $7,167,279 |
| 4-Year Total | $22,577,113 | $2,717,336 | $25,294,449 |
* 2024 figures represent a full organizational roster of 70 roles. 2022, 2023, and 2025 figures reflect roles that received at least one bonus or incentive payment during the respective year. Role counts are not directly comparable across years.
Additional Compensation Facts (2022-2026)
- The FPPA Board approved a 20% annual retention incentive for five consecutive years (2022–2026) for upper-level executive positions. (Source: FPPA Board Minutes, December 12, 2024)
- A 20% annual base salary incentive compensation program was approved for all Executive Team members, with staggered vesting schedules. (Source: FPPA Board Minutes, December 12, 2024)
- Across all four years, the top 10 highest-paid roles consistently accounted for a disproportionate share of both
base salary and bonus expenditure. In 2025, the top 3 bonus earners alone — the Executive Director ($249,208),
the CIO ($224,980), and the Director of Private Markets ($104,840) — received 52.6% of total bonus dollars. - The bonus-to-salary ratio for the organization's top earners increased materially across the study period. In 2022,
the highest bonus-to-salary ratio was 33.7% (Investment Officer). By 2025, both the Executive Director (54.8%)
and the CIO (50.8%) exceeded 50% — meaning their incentive compensation exceeded half their base salary.
All compensation figures are presented solely to provide context regarding organizational compensation practices and policy priorities, and not to reflect on any individual’s character, integrity, or professional performance. The figures referenced herein are derived entirely from publicly available records, including FPPA Board minutes and records obtained through Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) requests. The information is presented for informational and public policy discussion purposes as it relates to FPPA’s stated financial position and the absence of cost-of-living adjustments for certain occupationally disabled retirees.
Why This Policy Must Change
The current COLA policy falls short of the values it claims to uphold.
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Fails to reflect the long-term consequences of duty-related injuries—whether physical, psychological, or financial.
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Creates avoidable financial instability for those who can no longer serve due to line-of-duty disability.
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Applies outdated assumptions about earning capacity that do not align with today’s medical, economic, or public safety realities.
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Undermines the FPPA’s own principles of serving first responders who serve our community by proving basic financial security in retirement and administering benefits impartially.
Colorado’s public safety retirees deserve a system that evolves with the times. It is time for FPPA leadership and state lawmakers to modernize this policy—ensuring that all occupationally disabled members receive equitable, inflation-protected benefits that honor their service and sacrifice.
Why This Affects All First Responders—Now and in the Future
The current COLA policy falls short of the values it claims to uphold. It fails injured retirees on multiple dimensions — moral, financial, and practical.
- It ignores the long-term consequences of duty-related injury
Occupational disability resulting from line-of-duty service carries lasting physical, psychological, and financial consequences that do not diminish over time. A fixed benefit that loses purchasing power every year compounds that harm indefinitely.
- It applies outdated assumptions about earning capacity
The FPPA's position assumes occupationally disabled retirees can still work in some capacity. This assumption does not reflect today's medical, economic, or public safety realities — and it is not a standard the organization appears to apply to its own compensation decisions.
- It creates avoidable financial instability for those who served
Colorado's cost of living has risen 36.5% since 2015. A retiree receiving the same fixed benefit today has effectively absorbed a 36.5% cut in purchasing power. This is not a theoretical risk — it is the daily reality for hundreds of injured retirees and their families.
- It creates inequitable distinctions between equally deserving retirees
Totally disabled members receive a guaranteed 3.0% COLA annually. Occupationally disabled members — who were also injured in the line of duty — receive nothing, or a one-time 1.0% adjustment only after 15 years. Inflation does not distinguish between categories of disability.
- It undermines commitments made to those who served
FPPA's stated mission is to serve the first responders who protect Colorado's communities. Denying fair cost-of-living adjustments to those injured doing exactly that — while the organization's overall financial position remains strong — is inconsistent with that mission.
- It affects every active-duty officer and firefighter, today and tomorrow
Every first responder currently on active duty lives one call away from a career-ending injury. The protections available to today's injured retirees are the protections tomorrow's officers and firefighters will inherit. Reforming this policy now is an investment in every first responder's future.
Who Is Receiving COLAs—and Who Is Being Left Out?
As of 2025, not all FPPA retirees are treated equally when it comes to cost-of-living adjustments — and the differences are significant.
Occupationally disabled retirees under the Statewide Death & Disability (SWDD) Plan are not eligible for compounding COLAs unless they have received benefits for at least 15 years. In 2025, the FPPA Board approved a one-time 1.0% benefit adjustment — effective October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026 only — for those who meet that threshold. Retirees with fewer than 15 years on benefit receive nothing. The Board cited the plan's funded status of 91.4% as of January 1, 2025 as one of the factors in its decision — a funding level that, by pension industry standards, is not indicative of a plan in crisis. (Fire & Police Pension Association of Colorado, 2025)
By contrast, members classified as totally disabled receive a guaranteed 3.0% COLA every year, regardless of how long they have been receiving benefits. In 2025, Statewide Retirement Plan (SRP) retirees received both a 0.27% compounding COLA and a 2.63% one-time lump sum payment. (Fire & Police Pension Association of Colorado, 2025)
The disparity is not a matter of financial necessity — it is a policy choice. Inflation does not distinguish between categories of disability. The cost of groceries, healthcare, and housing rises equally for every retiree, regardless of how the FPPA Board has classified their condition.
Get Involved — Your Voice and Insights Matter
This is a volunteer-led initiative. No politics. No payroll. Just people helping people. Whether you are a retiree, family member, active-duty officer, or concerned citizen — your voice and your time matter.
We rely on transparency and collaboration among retirees, families, and supporters statewide. If you have relevant information, documents, CORA responses, or legislative contacts to share — we want to hear from you.
How You Can Help
- Write to your state legislators — a short personal letter or email carries more weight than you may think. See our sample email guide below.
- Share this initiative with other occupationally disabled retirees, their families, and supporters. Coordinated outreach amplifies the message.
- Submit or share public records requests. CORA responses and FPPA Board documents are among our most powerful tools.
- Volunteer your skills — we welcome help with legislative outreach, policy research, communications, and community organizing.
Email us at cola4retirees@gmail.com
Ready to get involved or share information? Click below or email cola4retirees@gmail.com. Every voice strengthens the case for fair, long-overdue COLA reform for Colorado's occupationally disabled FPPA retirees.
How You Can Help
- Write a short letter or email describing your experience and your concerns. (See the sample email guide below.)
- Email or mail your letter to the contacts below.
- Share this message with other occupationally disabled retirees, as well as their family members and supporters.
- Encourage coordinated outreach—legislators are more likely to act when they hear from multiple constituents on the same issue.
Your Voice Makes a Difference
Whether you’re a retiree, family member, or concerned citizen, your voice matters. By taking a few minutes to reach out, you help drive progress toward fairness and long-overdue COLA reform.
Help Restore COLAs for Occupationally Disabled FPPA Retirees
Below is the contact information for state legislators, the Governor’s office, and FPPA Board members who influence policy decisions regarding COLA eligibility.
Sample Email Guide
When writing to a legislator, FPPA leader, or public official, your personal story carries weight. A clear and respectful message—including your background, how the lack of COLAs has impacted you, and your specific policy request—can make a powerful difference.
Your email should include:
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Who you are and your connection to FPPA
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The year you retired due to an occupational disability and a summary of your cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) history
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Impact of inflation on your daily life
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A brief description of your injury or health limitations
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A request to support COLA reform for occupationally disabled retirees
Be sincere, respectful, and specific. Your individual story helps humanize this issue and shows the real-world impact of current policy.
Contact the Colorado House Finance Committee
The House Finance Committee oversees legislation related to state pensions and public finance, including policies governing the Fire & Police Pension Association (FPPA).
Ways the Committee Can Help:
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Make COLA reform for occupationally disabled retirees a legislative priority
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Hold hearings to examine the long-term financial impact of the COLA freeze on FPPA occupationally disabled retirees
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Request testimony or reporting from FPPA leadership on the sustainability and fairness of current COLA policies
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Support legislation that reinstates or mandates annual COLAs for occupationally disabled retirees
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Explore funding strategies or cost-sharing models to support COLA restoration
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Promote greater transparency and legislative oversight of FPPA’s COLA decision-making process
Contact Governor Jared Polis
The Governor plays a vital role in shaping the legislative agenda, approving the state budget, and promoting transparency in state-managed retirement systems.
Ways the Governor Can Help:
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Publicly endorse COLA reform for FPPA occupationally disabled retirees
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Request an independent financial review or audit of FPPA’s COLA policy and fund management
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Support legislative and budgetary initiatives to restore COLAs for occupationally disabled public safety retirees
Contact Your State Legislators
our lawmakers need to hear from you. Legislators respond to constituents—your voice matters.
Ways Your Senator and Representative Can Help:
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Support legislation or oversight efforts to reinstate fair and consistent cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for occupationally disabled retirees under the FPPA Statewide Death & Disability Plan
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Introduce or co-sponsor legislation to restore annual COLAs for these retirees
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Initiate a legislative review or oversight hearing on the sustainability and equity of current COLA policies
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Champion funding solutions to make COLA restoration financially viable
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Promote greater transparency and accountability in how FPPA determines and administers COLAs
Contact the FPPA Board of Directors
The FPPA Board oversees the management of disability and retirement benefits. Share how the absence of COLAs has impacted you or your family.
Ways the FPPA Board Members Can Help:
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Commission a dedicated actuarial and financial analysis focused on COLAs for occupationally disabled retirees
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Establish a clear, public timeline and strategy for restoring annual COLAs
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Acknowledge the unique long-term financial challenges faced by occupationally disabled retirees
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Increase transparency around COLA decisions and fund performance
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Host a public forum to hear directly from occupationally disabled retirees affected by COLA freezes
Contact FPPA Executive Director Kevin Lindahl
As Executive Director, Mr. Lindahl plays a key role in policy development and communication with the FPPA Board.
Ways the Executive Director Can Help:
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Recommend that the FPPA Board commission a targeted actuarial and financial analysis on reinstating COLAs for occupationally disabled retirees
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Advise the Board to establish a clear, transparent roadmap for restoring COLAs
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Ensure that data and policy recommendations reflect the financial challenges facing injured, early retirees
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Support public engagement efforts, including listening sessions with affected members
To help ensure your message reaches the appropriate person, include a note in your email indicating it is intended for Executive Director Kevin Lindahl.
Frequently Asked Questions
This initiative is intended to be a collaborative effort—driven by the voices, experiences, and concerns of FPPA retirees across Colorado. We are committed to providing accurate and up-to-date information to the best of our ability. However, if you find any information on this website that is incorrect, outdated, or missing, we welcome your input.
Please send an email to cola4retirees@gmail.com to share corrections, suggestions, or resources you’d like to see included. Together, we can strengthen this platform and make it a more informative and impactful tool for all occupationally disabled retirees advocating for fair treatment and cost-of-living equity.
Sources & Disclaimer
Colorado FPPA Occupationally Disabled Retirees for Fair COLAs | cola4retirees@gmail.com
This is a volunteer-led public advocacy initiative. All compensation figures cited are drawn from public records including FPPA Board minutes and CORA requests, and are presented solely to provide context for policy discussion.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Inflation Calculator (2025); Colorado Inflation Data — in2013dollars.com (2025); FPPA Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (2024); FPPA Annual Report (2024); FPPA Board Minutes (2024–2025); FPPA Directors Meeting Report, June 11–13, 2025; CORA Request (July 14, 2025); Fire & Police Pension Association of Colorado official website (2025).
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