LACERA is an independent governmental entity that administers and manages the retirement fund for the County of Los Angeles and outside districts. We are the largest county retirement system in the United States.
Our Services
LACERA administers defined retirement plan benefits for the employees of Los Angeles County and outside districts. Since 1971, LACERA has also administered the Retiree Healthcare Benefits Program. LACERA is further responsible for managing the pension plan and Other Post-Employment Benefits trusts that fund these programs.
Our Management
LACERA is governed by two boards. Both boards are composed of elected and appointed members and one ex-officio member. The Board of Retirement is responsible for the overall management of the retirement system and the LACERA-administered Retiree Healthcare Benefits Program. The Board of Investments is responsible for establishing LACERA’s investment policies, strategies, and objectives, as well as exercising authority and control over the investment management of the fund and actuarial matters relating to setting of contributions and estimation of fund liabilities.
Our History
In 1937, Los Angeles County established a pension trust fund to provide defined retirement and death benefits to eligible County employees. In 1938, LACERA was introduced to administer it, and the Board of Retirement was established to oversee the organization. In the decades since, LACERA has dedicated itself to serving the needs of its growing membership and strategically managing the now multibillion dollar fund.
As the fund's value grew over the decades, diversification became more important, and the Board of Investments was established in 1971 to spearhead LACERA’s increasingly sophisticated strategies and achieve its long-term funding goals.
Our Annual Financial Report contains in-depth information on our trusts, investments, and membership statistics.
Disability retirement, cost-of-living increases, retiree healthcare, and other benefits have been added to LACERA’s areas of responsibility over the years, to ensure that those who have dedicated themselves to public service are taken care of when they are no longer working. This has required the creation of specialized divisions to administer member service programs. The addition of in-house financial professionals has also been necessary to oversee investment of the growing pension fund in an increasing complex financial environment. Today, LACERA’s dedicated employees work in 15 divisions, providing a full range of specialized services and program support.