Members of the Tulare County Employees' Retirement Association (TCERA) have a variety of membership types and benefit formulas. Under TCERA, your membership type depends upon the work you do. Employees whose primary job functions include law enforcement are classified as Safety members. All other employees are classified as General (also known as Miscellaneous) members. The two types of members, General and Safety have different benefit formulas and employee contribution rates. Safety members have higher benefit formulas than do their General member counterparts. Safety members also pay higher rates of employee contributions than do General members.

Within each of the two types of plan membership exist three benefit tiers. Tier status is the same for all members (General and Safety) depending upon when you became a TCERA plan member. In almost all cases you can determine your Tier by referring to the following:

Tier I members are those people who joined TCERA
on or before December 31, 1979

Tier II members are those people who joined TCERA
from January 1, 1980 through December 31, 1989

Tier III members are those people who joined TCERA
from Janaury 1, 1990 and later

Tier I members (both General and Safety) enjoy the highest level of benefits. Tier II and Tier III members have identical benefit formulas but very highly compensated employees under Tier III face the possibility of limits on retirement Benefits due to Internal Revenue Code restrictions.

While most members will remain under the same Tier throughout their careers with TCERA, it is sometimes possible to regain Tier I membership. An individual who was formerly a TCERA member under Tier I, terminated membership, withdrew their funds and has returned to active TCERA membership under a different Tier can regain Tier I membership by re-depositing their withdrawn contributions and interest. If you think that you might qualify, contact the Retirement Office and we will provide you with additional information.