Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) Background Information

Sonoma County does not have an automatic COLA program so there were no contributions collected to fund a COLA and COLAs are not automatically granted each year.  Instead the County adopted an Ad hoc approach which means that each year the County needs to decide whether a COLA can be granted and how its going to be paid for, since the authority to grant the COLA rests with the Board of Supervisors NOT SCERA.

• From the 1960s through 2008 COLAs were granted and funded in various ways
• From the early 2000s COLAs were funded with excess earnings of the retirement fund
• In 2008 the Great Recession caused a significant investment loss and SCERA’s reserves were zeroed out so there were no more excess earnings
• The last COLA granted was in 2008 and it brought retirees up to 80% of their original purchasing power at their retirement date
• SCERA and the County have been working together to bring this issue to each of our Boards
• The SCERA Board approved policy changes
• The Board of Supervisors adopted a 2026 legislative platform that includes a COLA proposal to add some flexibility to the law