Updated October 30, 2026. Quick answer: The Kern County Employees’ Retirement Association (KCERA) pays a COLA each April based on the region’s CPI, with a maximum of 2.5% a year and a COLA bank for excess CPI. For 2026 the Board of Retirement approved the actuary’s recommended 2% on February 11, 2026. The 2025 COLA was 2% and the 2024 COLA was 2.5%. No 2027 COLA has been approved yet.
The rule in the member handbook
The KCERA Member Handbook says: “All retirement allowances in effect on April 1 of each year are eligible for a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), as determined by the region’s Consumer Price Index (CPI). The maximum annual COLA is 2.5%.” The bank: “If the CPI in any year exceeds 2.5%, the excess is accumulated in a “COLA bank” and applied to the allowance in a future year when the CPI is less than 2.5%.” “If the CPI is negative in any year, the COLA bank reserve will decrease. A retiree whose COLA bank has insufficient reserves will not receive a cost-of-living adjustment in that year.”
Where the 2.5% comes from
KCERA’s benefits page explains: “Each April, the 0.5% COLA is added to the employer-funded 2.0% COLA, resulting in a total annual COLA of up to 2.5%.”
The 2026 COLA
KCERA’s 2026 COLA page says: “KCERA’s actuary, Segal, recommended a 2% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for all current retirees and beneficiaries as of April 1, 2026.” “The COLA recommendation was approved at the Board of Retirement February 11, 2026 meeting.” “The 2026 COLA will take effect beginning with retirees’ April benefit payments.”
The 2024 COLA
The 2024 page reports: “KCERA’s actuary, Segal, has recommended a 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for all current retirees and beneficiaries as of April 1, 2024.”
What the documents do not say
The California Government Code provisions were not archived, so the rule is sourced to KCERA’s own handbook and COLA pages. The handbook is undated, and no CPI period is stated. The 2026 page calls the extra 0.5% a COLA Benefit Reserve, while the 2025 page and the benefits page call it the Supplemental Retiree Benefit Reserve. The 2026 page says the maximum COLA is increased by 0.5% to 2.5% through the COLA Benefit Reserve while approving the actuary’s 2%; no page read says whether any reserve-funded 0.5% was paid on top of the 2% in 2026. The February 2027 timing is inferred from the 2024, 2025 and 2026 votes.
Where 2027 stands
No 2027 KCERA COLA is set: the Board of Retirement has approved the COLA at a February meeting in each recent year, and no archived page mentions 2027.
Common mistakes
- Treating 2.5% as guaranteed. It is a maximum, and 2% was the 2026 figure.
- Expecting a COLA when the bank is empty. A retiree without enough bank reserves does not receive one that year.
- Assuming the extra 0.5% is employer-funded. KCERA says it comes from a reserve.
Related: KCERA retirement decisions, how public pension decisions work, and whether California taxes pensions.
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Answer againSources
- KCERA, Member Handbook: www.kcera.org
- KCERA, Your Retirement Benefits: www.kcera.org
- KCERA, 2026 COLA: www.kcera.org
- KCERA, 2024 COLA: www.kcera.org
- Related official page (not quoted): IRS Tax Topic 410, Pensions and annuities: www.irs.gov
- Related official page (not quoted): IRS Tax Topic 411, Pensions: the General Rule and the Simplified Method: www.irs.gov
Read from the primary documents linked above on October 30, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer or the IRS itself is the right place to confirm anything consequential.