SAUGUS — Town Manager Scott Crabtree on Tuesday approved a 5 percent cost of living adjustment for members of the town’s Retirement Board, at the request of the board.

Crabtree announced the approval at a Board of Selectmen meeting Tuesday night.

The Retirement Board had initially asked the Selectmen to approve the request, before Town Counsel John Vasapolli notified them that Crabtree was the town’s chief executive officer and thus had to approve the increase.

The increase represents an additional 2 percent tacked on to a 3 percent increase approved by the Retirement Board last year, and comes after the state moved last year to up the maximum COLA towns could offer to 5 percent.

The increase applies to those receiving annual allotments of $14,000 and $18,000 from the retirement board system in Saugus, which serves town employees, some school department employees, and Saugus Housing Authority members.

Cost of Living Adjustments are typically implemented to counteract inflation, which has become pervasive nationwide in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.