Operations Update - March 31

We have heard some concerns from our members and want to assure you that the Marin County Employees’ Retirement Association (MCERA) is taking the necessary steps to ensure that you will continue to receive your monthly benefit, paid in full and on time.

Providing our retirees with benefit security is central to our mission at MCERA. A key part of that security is accomplished through strategic, long-term investing. We have built an investment portfolio which is designed to generate returns over decades—rather than days, weeks or months. While our fund is not immune to short-term volatility and extreme market fluctuations, our strategy helps MCERA provide retirement security to our members now and well into the future. As market conditions return to more normal patterns, the Board of Retirement, with advice from its investment consultant, will take any steps necessary to reposition our portfolio to take advantage of future investment opportunities.

MCERA's policy for funding the cost of the promised benefits, as defined in our actuarial valuation report, anticipates that there will be market fluctuations and has built-in mechanisms to manage employer contribution rate volatility. Please keep in mind that although our portfolio has experienced the market changes in March, the impact to our fund and the annual financing plan (the actuarial valuation) will only become clearer after the end of the fiscal year, which is June 30, 2020.

We remain committed to helping you make it through this time by focusing on our top priorities and conducting our business as consistently and transparently as possible, and we will continue to update our website as we have further updates on our business operations.