MCERA Coronavirus Update

MCERA members, retirees and employers,

Our top priority is the health and well-being of our members, our retirees, our employees, and our families. We’re in the retirement business, and many of our members and retirees are those most at risk from COVID-19. We want to ensure your safety while continuing to serve all of your retirement needs, so here’s what you should know for the coming weeks.

Our MCERA Office is Closed

Our office will be closed to the public for the next several weeks, but we will have staff working on- and off-site to serve members. As a result, one-on-one retirement consultations are only available via phone. If you have an existing appointment, we will reach out to you to discuss your options. You can also call us at (415) 473-6147, or send us an email at MCERABenefits@marincounty.org. We will get your message and get back to you as soon as we can.

We’re Processing Retirements on Schedule

If you have submitted an application for an upcoming retirement, don’t worry. We’re processing your application and you will receive your monthly benefit payment on schedule. If you are considering retirement in the coming months and haven’t submitted an application, contact us as soon as possible so we can get the process started.

We’re Making Upcoming Retirement Payments on Schedule

Retirees—your upcoming pension payments are on schedule. The next MCERA benefit payment date is Tuesday, March 31. As always, direct deposit transactions will take place on or before this date, and checks will be mailed by this date.

Additionally, any members who retire on or before April 1 will receive the 2020 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) and the increase will automatically be included in your benefit payments beginning April 30.

All March Meetings Are Cancelled or Postponed

We have cancelled or postponed March meetings of the Board of Retirement. Meetings scheduled for April, including the Board of Retirement, Governance Committee and Strategic Workshop, will be evaluated based on directions from state and local orders, and discussion with the Board of Retirement Chair. Further updates will be posted on the MCERA website and, to the extent possible, at the MCERA offices.

We Invest for the Future

Finally, providing you with retirement security is central to our mission at MCERA. We’re able to provide that security through 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.

We appreciate your patience and thank you for serving the Marin community in these difficult times. We’ll continue to be at your service for many years to come.