Your Retirement Allowance

Overview

Your Retirement Allowance

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.

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Receiving Pension Benefit Payments From ACERA

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.

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Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA)
ACERA Retirees and Eligible Payees Receive a COLA Each April 1

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%.

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Supplemental COLA

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.

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Tax Considerations For Your Retirement Allowance

Your ACERA retirement allowance may be subject to federal and state income tax.

General information

ACERA Website Legal Disclaimer

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.

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