More than 184,000 members and their beneficiaries received a payment from the Supplemental Benefit Maintenance Account in October, approximately 48,000 of them for the first time, according to Chief Executive Officer Cassandra Lichnock’s report to the board.

These inflation-protection payments help them keep up with inflation and are in addition to monthly pension payments. These SBMA payments are paid quarterly to help beneficiaries maintain their standard of living by offsetting the impact of inflation.

SBMA helps those whose purchasing power fell below 85% of their initial retirement benefit. Payments are issued on October 1, January 1, April 1 and July 1.

Inflation is generally measured by changes in the average prices of selected goods and services. As inflation rises, the value of money decreases because it purchases fewer goods and services.

Inflation can also be defined as a decline in the purchasing power of money. The higher the rate of inflation, the greater the drop in the purchasing power of money. For example, if wages remain the same but prices double, the current purchasing power of wages is only 50%.

CalSTRS measures the purchasing power of benefits by the change in the All Urban California Consumer Price Index (CCPI) published by the California Department of Industrial Relations. For fiscal year 2024–25, California inflation was 3.0%.

Newly eligible members received a letter from CalSTRS confirming their SBMA eligibility. Members do not have to contact CalSTRS to enroll.

In total, CalSTRS paid $197.3 million in SBMA benefits to more than 184,000 CalSTRS retirees and beneficiaries on October 1, 2025—about 54% of all CalSTRS retirees and beneficiaries.