As used in this act “retirant” means any former employee included in the membership of the retirement system established under the act to which this act is a supplement, who has retired from such employment, and as a result of such employment, is receiving a pension from the retirement system.

“Calendar year” means the 12-month period beginning January 1 and ending December 31.

“Retirement year” is the calendar year 1967 for all retirants who retired before the calendar year 1968; for all retirants who retired after 1967, “retirement year” is the actual calendar year of retirement.

“Index” shall mean the annual average over a calendar year of the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, All Items Series A, of the United States Department of Labor (1957-1959=100). Should the reference base of said index be changed, the index used to determine the Consumer Price Index as defined herein will be the index converted to the new base by standard statistical methods.

“Retirement year index” shall be the index of the calendar year 1967 for all retirants who retired prior to January 1, 1968 and the index for the calendar year of retirement for all retirants who retired thereafter.

L.1971, c. 277, s. 1.