Contribution Rates
LACERA's retirement fund relies on three sources of funding: investment earnings, employer contributions, and employee (member) contributions. Your contribution rate for Safety Plan C is a flat rate percentage of your base salary plus certain other pay items included in your pensionable compensation.
As a PEPRA plan, by law Safety Plan C employer and member contribution rates are required to be updated every year and are structured to reflect 50/50 sharing of the cost of benefits.
The cost of benefits in a given year is called the normal cost. The normal cost contribution rate for PEPRA plans is calculated by LACERA’s actuary and reflects the cost of pension benefits apportioned to the current year. That total normal cost contribution rate is then split evenly (50/50) between employer and employee. (Contributions to fund the plan’s unfunded liability portion are paid entirely by the employer.) Read more about how contribution rates are set.
Current Member Contribution Rate
On May 7, 2024, the Board of Supervisors adopted revised employer and employee contribution rates, as recommended by LACERA in accordance with Government Code Section 31454. The rates are based on the 2023 Actuarial Valuation Report, prepared by LACERA’s consulting actuary, and were approved by LACERA’s Board of Investments on December 13, 2023.
Effective July 1, 2024, the Safety Plan C employee contribution rate is 14.97 percent, an increase of 0.21 percent from 2023.
For examples of monthly rate increases in dollar amounts, see the table below.
| Entry Age | $4,000 | $5,000 | $6,000 | $7,000 | $8,000 | $9,000 | $10,000 | $11,000 | $12,000 | $13,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Ages | $8 | $11 | $13 | $15 | $17 | $19 | $21 | $23 | $25 | $27 |