Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association

The Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association is an independent Los Angeles County agency that administers and manages the retirement fund for the County and outside Districts. In 2024, it managed defined benefit pension plans for 198,647 civil servants, including 56,752 retirees and 10,0611 survivors, making it the largest county retirement system in the United States. In 2018, LACERA's net assets were worth.

History

LACERA was established on January 1, 1938, following passage of the County Employees Retirement Law of 1937, which mandates LACERA to pay for the defined retirement benefits of Los Angeles County employees and their beneficiaries. In 1971, LACERA began administering a retiree healthcare benefits program.

Management

LACERA is governed by two Boards:

Board of Retirement: composed of 12 trustees, responsible for the overall management of the retirement system)
Board of Investments: composed of 10 trustees, responsible for establishing LACERA's investment policy and objectives, and exercising authority and control over the investment management of the Fund.

Day-to-day management and operation of LACERA is delegated to a Chief Executive Officer, who is appointed by both Boards.

Board of Retirement

The Board of Retirement administers the retirement system, the retiree healthcare program, and the review and processing of disability retirement applications.
The Board of Retirement's members are appointed as follows:

Four members – appointed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
Two members – elected by general members
One member and one alternate – elected by safety members
One member and one alternate – elected by retired members
One member – the Los Angeles County Treasurer and Tax Collector, who serves as an ex officio member, as required by California law
One member – the Los Angeles County Chief Deputy Treasurer and Tax Collector, who serves as an acting ex officio member, as required by California law

The Board of Retirement meets at 9 a.m. on the first Wednesday of each month.

Board of Investments

The Board of Investments establishes LACERA's investment policy and objectives and exercises authority and control over the investment management of the pension and benefit trust.
The Board of Investments’ members are appointed as follows:

Four members – appointed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
Two members – elected by general members
One member – elected by safety members
One member – elected by retired members
One member – the Los Angeles County Treasurer and Tax Collector, who serves as an ex-officio member, as required by California law
One member – the Los Angeles County Chief Deputy Treasurer and Tax Collector, who serves as an ex-officio member, as required by California law

The Board of Investments meets at 9 a.m. on the second Wednesday of each month.

Benefits

Health care benefits

LACERA provides health insurance plans for its retired members. LACERA covers 100% of healthcare premiums for Los Angeles County retirees who have at least 25 years of public service. For members with 10 years of public service, LACERA contributes 40% of health care plan premiums, with an additional contribution of 4% for each additional year worked.

Retirement plans

LACERA offers two tracks of retirement plans, for general members and for safety members, further subdivided as follows:

Plan Name	Category	Open Date	Close Date	Notes
Plan A	General Members	-	August 31, 1977
Plan B	General Members	September 1, 1977	September 30, 1978
Plan C	General Members	October 1, 1978	May 31, 1979
Plan D	General Members	June 1, 1979	December 31, 2012
Plan E	General Members	January 4, 1982	November 27, 2012	Non-contributory plan
Plan G	General Members	January 1, 2013	-	Established in response to the California Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013
Plan A	Safety Members	-	August 31, 1977
Plan B	Safety Members	September 1, 1977	December 31, 2012
Plan C	Safety Members	January 1, 2013	-	Established in response to PEPRA

Finances

As of June 30, 2024, LACERA's net assets were worth, an increase of $5.4 billion, or 7.2%, from the prior year. The latest actuarial valuation on June 30, 2024, determined that LACERA had a funded ratio of actuarial assets to the actuarial accrued liability of 79.9%, from the prior year. For fiscal year 2023–24, LACERA's fiscal-year-to-date return on investments was 0.91%; the FY 2022-23 return was 6.40%.
Historically, investment earnings have accounted for about 70% of the money necessary to pay the promised benefits.

Reciprocity

LACERA has reciprocity with the other California public retirement systems, including:

California Public Employees’ Retirement System
Judges' Retirement System
LA County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Retirement System
Los Angeles City Employees’ Retirement System
19 CERL Counties

LACERA also recognizes other California public agencies and districts, cities, counties, school districts, superintendents of schools and others that are covered by CalPERS, including the California State Teachers' Retirement System and University of California Retirement Plan.

Corporate Governance

LACERA is one of eight institutional investors represented by the Shareholder Rights Projects, which worked to present shareholder declassification proposals in S&P 500 annual meetings.''''''