Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA)
The law provides for an annual Cost-of-Living Adjustment to protect retirees’ monthly benefits against inflation. California Government Code mandates that each year, prior to April 1, the Board of Retirement will determine whether there has been an increase or decrease in the Cost-of-Living as reflected in the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index (CPI). Details regarding the Cost-of-Living Adjustment are detailed in this section.
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Special
The Special COLA is an Ad Hoc benefit originally initiated in 1999. It provides additional increases for certain retired members receiving monthly retirement payments who lost a significant amount of purchasing power due to inflation. This is a non-vested benefit that is reviewed on an annual basis.
Death Benefit
StanCERA offers a one-time lump sum $5,000 death benefit for retirees when StanCERA is their last public service employer. This allowance is not a life insurance policy and is a taxable benefit to the beneficiary. This benefit is available only for the retiree, not their beneficiary.
Employment After Retirement
After you have retired you may think about going back to work with a StanCERA employer to earn some extra money or to occupy your time. There are some basic rules you need to know about working after retirement with a StanCERA employer to ensure that you will not jeopardize your StanCERA retirement benefits. Review this information carefully.
Click for more details on employment after retirement
First Retirement Paycheck
These charts show when you should receive your first retirement paycheck.
Health Insurance
Information pertaining to retiree health insurance is provided by RESCO’s Administrator Pacific Group Agencies as well as Stanislaus County’s Risk Management Department. Information is provided to contact these agencies since StanCERA does not administer retirees’ health insurance needs.
Taxation of Retirement Benefits
This is a general summary of how StanCERA withholds taxes from retirement payments and reports such payments and withholdings to the Internal Revenue Service and California’s Franchise Tax Board.