Employer contribution rates are recommended annually by the ACERA’s actuary in its actuarial valuation and typically vary from year-to-year. Rates depend on the level of established benefits, rate of return on investments, and the cost of administering benefits.
Members do not benefit from employer contributions until retirement—these contributions are used, along with employee contributions, to fund member retirement benefits. Employer contributions are never refundable—if a member terminates employment and elects to receive a refund of employee retirement contributions, they will not receive employer contributions made on their behalf.
To learn about the rates employees pay, visit our employee contributions page.
Employer Contribution Rates
These are the average rates employers are paying between September 2026 and September 2027 compared with the previous year’s rates.
| Membership Type and Tier |
2025/2026 Average Rate |
2026/2027 Average Rate |
Difference |
| Alameda County |
| General Tier 1 |
24.31% |
17.99% |
-6.32% |
| General Tier 2 (A) |
22.57% |
16.22% |
-6.35% |
| General Tier 4* |
22.31% |
15.97% |
-6.34% |
| Safety Tier 2B |
29.30% |
29.61% |
0.31% |
| Safety Tier 2C |
33.11% |
33.27% |
0.16% |
| Safety Tier 2D |
30.75% |
30.97% |
0.22% |
| Safety Tier 4* |
27.14% |
27.06% |
-0.08% |
| County Combined |
23.72% |
18.79% |
-4.93% |
| AHS, Courts, & First 5 |
| General Tier 1 |
25.34% |
25.02% |
-0.32% |
| General Tier 2 |
23.60% |
23.25% |
-0.35% |
| General Tier 4* |
23.34% |
23.00% |
-0.34% |
| Housing & LAFCO |
| General Tier 1 |
30.13% |
29.51% |
-0.62% |
| General Tier 2 |
28.39% |
27.74% |
-0.65% |
| General Tier 4* |
28.13% |
27.49% |
-0.64% |
| LARPD |
| General Tier 1 |
12.04% |
13.00% |
0.96% |
| General Tier 3 |
18.01% |
18.83% |
0.82% |
| General Tier 4* |
10.04% |
10.98% |
0.94% |
| All Categories Combined |
23.63% |
20.08% |
-3.55% |
*Tier 4 rates are flat rates, not average rates, i.e., all Tier 4 members pay the same employee contribution rates.
For more information, refer to ACERA’s annual actuarial valuation
