Retired Sonoma County Employees May See Pension Changes After New CA Law

SONOMA VALLEY, CA — For retired Sonoma County workers living on fixed pensions, a new California law could eventually allow some of them to receive cost-of-living increases. But for now, it offers something less tangible: a new set of options.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1601 on Sunday, giving the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors more flexibility to consider cost-of-living increases for retired county employees and their beneficiaries. However, it does not provide an increase or set aside county money for one.

Sonoma County has not given retirees or beneficiaries a cost-of-living adjustment, known as a COLA, since 2008. Officials say inflation has cut the buying power of some pensions by more than 50% over the years.

The new law lets supervisors consider a more targeted approach. They could decide which retirees would receive an increase, how much they would get and how it would be paid for. Before any increase could be approved, a study would have to show how it would affect future pension costs.

The change follows years of difficulty finding a way to increase benefits. Under the old law, COLAs had to be paid from extra earnings in the retirement fund. After investment losses during the Great Recession, the county said that was no longer possible.

Sonoma County officials began looking at targeted increases last year, when the Board of Supervisors directed staff to study COLAs for retirees most affected by inflation. Assemblymember Chris Rogers, D-Santa Rosa, introduced AB 1601 in January after the county made changes to state COLA law a legislative priority.

"AB 1601 is about making sure that the dedicated public servants who helped build this community can stay in this community," Rogers said in a statement Tuesday.

The Sonoma County Employees' Retirement Association, which runs the county pension system, provides benefits to more than 6,000 retirees and beneficiaries from the county and other public agencies. That number does not mean all of them would qualify for a future increase.

No COLA proposal has yet been developed. The county created a pension trust in May to set aside money for future pension costs and help make those costs more stable. That money could help pay for a future COLA if supervisors decide to provide one.

For now, the County Executive's Office and the retirement association will study the options under the new law. Supervisors are scheduled to receive an update on the law during their annual State of the Retirement System presentation on Oct. 13. No COLA recommendation will be presented at that meeting.

By Bay City News
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