The example showing that the 0.5% annual COLA cut (from 2% to 1.5%) translates to a $151,000 difference is even more interesting when you extrapolate it to show how wildly generous the previous 3.5% COLA was.  

If a 0.5% cut adds up to $151k, the extra 1.5% (up to 3.5%) was giving them upwards of an additional half $million more.  Wow.  No wonder the system was going broke.