As an employee of an ACERA participating
employer, you earned enough years of service credit to
entitle you to a lifetime service retirement allowance. Or
you may have become disabled and are now receiving a disability retirement
allowance. If you’re a survivor of an ACERA member you may
be receiving a continuance (continuing monthly payment) depending
on which retirement
option the member selected.
Your retirement allowance or continuance is payable on the last
business day of each month. ACERA requires that payments be made
via direct deposit. Whatever your service retirement allowance is
calculated to be at the time of retirement is what it will be for
the rest of your life, plus annual cost of living adjustments
(COLA). Disability retirees and survivors also receive COLAs to
their monthly payments.
Retirement allowances are paid on a monthly basis. ACERA
mandates signing up for direct deposit, so that your monthly
check will be deposited directly into your bank account. Direct
deposit is easy, safe, and reliable, and can save you time and
money. You will receive a monthly Electronic File Transfer (EFT)
statement in the mail each month whenever you are paid through
direct deposit. This process ensures the receipt of funds,
especially in the case of a natural disaster, Post Office
delivery delays, or theft.
Cost of Living
Adjustments are made to retirement allowances every April 1 in
accordance with County Employees Retirement Law of
1937. Each
year, the San Francisco Bay Area’s Consumer Price Index (CPI),
the most common measure of inflation, is used to calculate the
COLA amount.
Between
December 2017 and December 2018, the CPI for the Bay Area
increased by a rounded 4.50%.
The goal of the Supplemental Cost of Living Adjustment
(Supplemental COLA) is to maintain retirees’ purchasing power at
no less than 85% of their original retirement allowance. What
this means: if it takes more than $1.15 today to purchase what
$1.00 would purchase at the time of your retirement, you’ve lost
at least 15% of your buying power. When this occurs, you may
qualify for a Supplemental COLA to make up the difference and
bring you back to 85% of your buying power.
The Alameda County Employees’ Retirement Association (ACERA)
provides these pages as a service primarily to its members, their
beneficiaries and the public generally. ACERA makes no
representations or warranties, express or implied, with respect
to any statements and/or documents, or any part thereof,
including any warranties of title, noninfringement of copyright
or patent rights of others, merchantability, or fitness or
suitability for any purpose.
