BATON ROUGE - Monthly pension checks will grow on July 1 for thousands of retired state employees, public school workers and teachers.

Gov. John Bel Edwards signed the cost-of-living increase into law Thursday.

The pension hike, sponsored by Republican Sen. Barrow Peacock, of Shreveport, is tied to adjustments in how the retirement systems pay for raises and administrative costs, aimed at lessening long-term debts.

The governor signed all three bills.

Nearly 125,000 retirees over the age of 60 will see increases, ranging from 1.5 percent for retired state workers and teachers to as much as 4 percent for retired state troopers. The average monthly increase will be about $30.

The increases are estimated to cost $383 million.