MCERA and its benefits are governed by the County Employees Retirement Law of 1937 (“CERL”) and the California Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013 (PEPRA). Additionally, the County of Marin Board of Supervisors and the governing boards of MCERA's participating employers may also adopt resolutions and ordinances which may affect the benefits of MCERA members.
To maintain MCERA’s tax qualified status, the system must be administered in a manner consistent with the Internal Revenue Code and Internal Revenue Service regulations.
The Retirement Board adopts its own bylaws and policies that further direct the administration and the system. These can be found on the Governance page of this site.
All business of the Retirement Board is conducted in accordance with California’s public meeting law, known as the Ralph M. Brown Act. Regular Board meetings are generally held on the second Wednesday of the month at 9:00 a.m., unless otherwise indicated on the Board’s meeting calendar. The Board also holds separate meetings for its Investment, Finance and Risk Management, Governance and Audit Committees.
All Board and Committee meetings are open to the public.
Composition of the Board
The Board of Retirement is a nine-member body with three alternate positions. The Board consists of four trustees who are appointed by the Marin County Board of Supervisors, four trustees who are elected by the MCERA membership (two general, one safety and one retiree), and the Director of Finance for the County of Marin. The safety and retiree positions have elected alternate members. The Director of Finance may also appoint an alternate ex-officio member. Except the County Director of Finance, all trustees serve a three-year term with no limit on the number of terms that can be served.
Board of Retirement Responsibilities
The Board has a fiduciary responsibility to manage the retirement system for the exclusive benefit of MCERA members. The Board sets policy for the operation of MCERA, considers applications for disability retirement, recommends employer and employee contribution rates on the basis of actuarial studies, controls the investment of assets and authorizes all disbursements of MCERA funds.
If Your Employee is Running for Election
There are employee elections for the general, safety, and safety alternate Board seats which are held in accordance with the Board’s regulations. These regulations address the election process but do not address campaigning. Regular elections are held in July with a notice of elections sent out in May. Elections are held two out of every three years, as the three-year terms are staggered. Special elections are called as needed to fill a vacancy.
If Your Employee is Elected to the Board
State law (Government Code § 31522) provides that for employees who are on the Board, their Board duties are part of and normally take precedence over their regular employee duties. The time it takes for Board members to prepare for and attend meetings, attend educational seminars and conferences is on regular paid time. Board meetings can take all or part of a work day, depending upon the workload of the Board.
The Retirement Administrator is happy to discuss how to address any scheduling issues that you may have if one of your employees serves on the Board.