Category: Retired Members

At its January 26, 2021 meeting, the Board of Retirement approved a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for retirees and beneficiaries in accordance with each plan as shown on the chart below:

Retiree or Beneficiary’s Plan Type	Date of Retirement	2021 COLA %	COLA BANK %
Plan 1 – General and Safety	On or before 4/1/2021	1.5%	n/a
Plan 1 – Probation	On or before 4/1/2019   4/2/2019 – 4/1/2020   4/2/2020 – 4/1/2021	3.0%   2.0%   1.5%	1.5% decrease   0.5% decrease   n/a
Plan 2 – All Members	On or before 4/1/2021	1.5%	n/a
Plan 3	n/a	n/a	n/a
Plan 4, 5, 6, 7 – All Members	On or before 4/1/2021	1.5%	n/a

This COLA applies to eligible retirees and beneficiaries who retired on or before April 1, 2021, and the amount of the COLA will depend on the retirement plan.

The COLA for General and Safety Plan 1 is 1.5%.

The COLA for Probation Plan 1 varies depending on the date of retirement. For those that retired on or before 4/1/2019, the COLA will be 3%. Those that retired between 4/2/2019 – 4/1/2020 will receive a 2% COLA. Those that retire(d) between 4/2/2020 – 4/1/2021 will receive a 1.5% COLA. Probation Plan 1 members receiving more than 1.5% are utilizing the remaining balance in their COLA Bank and now have a zero COLA Bank balance.

All Plan 2 members will receive 1.5%, and the COLA for Plans 4, 5, 6 and 7 is also 1.5%. Plan 3 does not provide a COLA.

All COLAs will be paid beginning with the April 30, 2021 benefit payment.

Current employees considering retirement: If you want to take advantage of this year’s COLA, you must retire on or before April 1. If you’re thinking about retirement, contact SamCERA as soon as possible so your paperwork can be processed in time for you to receive your first retirement benefit check on April 30.

At its January 28, 2020 meeting, the Board of Retirement approved a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for retirees and beneficiaries in accordance with each plan as shown on the chart below:

Retiree or Beneficiary’s Plan Type	2020 COLA %	COLA BANK %
Plan 1 – General and Safety	3.5%	n/a
Plan 1 – Probation	3%	0.5%
Plan 2 – All Members	3%	n/a
Plan 3	n/a	n/a
Plan 4, 5, 6, 7 – All Members	2%	n/a

The COLA applies to eligible retirees and beneficiaries retired on or before April 1, 2020, and the amount of the COLA will depend on the retirement plan. The COLA for General and Safety Plan 1 is 3.5% and Probation Plan 1 is 3% with a 0.5% COLA bank. All Plan 2 members will receive 3.0%, while the COLA for Plans 4, 5, 6 and 7 is 2.0%. Plan 3 does not provide a COLA.

All COLAs will be paid beginning with the April 2020 benefit payment.

Current employees considering retirement: If you want to take advantage of this year’s COLA, you must retire on or before April 1. If you’re thinking about retirement, contact SamCERA as soon as possible so your paperwork can be processed in time for you to receive your first retirement benefit check on April 30.

At its January 29, 2019 meeting, the Board of Retirement approved a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for retirees and beneficiaries in accordance with each plan as shown on the chart below:

Retiree or Beneficiary’s Plan Type	2019 COLA %	COLA BANK %
Plan 1 – General and Safety	4%	n/a
Plan 1 – Probation	3%	1%
Plan 2 – All Members	3%	n/a
Plan 3	n/a	n/a
Plan 4, 5, 6, 7 – All Members	2%	n/a

The COLA applies to eligible retirees and beneficiaries retired on or before April 1, 2019, and the amount of the COLA will depend on the retirement plan. The COLA for General and Safety Plan 1 is 4% and Probation Plan 1 is 3% with a 1% COLA bank. All Plan 2 members will receive 3.0%, while the COLA for Plans 4, 5, 6 and 7 is 2.0%. Plan 3 does not provide a COLA.

All COLAs will be paid beginning with the April 2019 benefit payments.

Current employees considering retirement: If you want to take advantage of this year’s COLA rate, you must retire on or before April 1. If you’re thinking about retirement, contact SamCERA as soon as possible so your paperwork can be processed in time for you to receive your first retirement benefit check on April 30.

At its January 23, 2018 meeting, the Board of Retirement approved the following cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for retirees and beneficiaries in accordance with each plan as shown on the chart below:

Retiree or Beneficiary’s Plan Type	COLA %
Plan 1  General, Probation, and Safety	3%
Plan 2 All Members	3%
Plan 3	N/A
Plan 4, 5, 6, 7  General Members	2%

Please refer to the chart above to find your plan’s COLA. The COLA applies to eligible retirees and beneficiaries retired on or before April 1, 2018, and the amount of the COLA will depend on the retirement plan. All COLAs will be paid beginning with the April 2018 benefit payments.

Current employees and deferred members considering retirement: If you want to take advantage of this year’s COLA rate, you must retire on or before April 1. If you’re thinking about retirement, contact SamCERA as soon as possible so your paperwork can be processed in time for you to receive your first retirement benefit check on April 30.