Updated October 30, 2026. Quick answer: Tulare County Employees’ Retirement Association (TCERA) retirees are adjusted each April 1 by the year-end CPI for the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario area, rounded to the nearest half percent and capped at 3% for Tier 1 and 2% for Tiers 2-4. For April 1, 2026 the actuary’s schedule gives 3.00% for Tier 1 and 2.00% for Tiers 2-4, on a November CPI rise of 4.51%. The 2027 COLA is not published.
The rule in the actuary’s letter
The Cheiron letter to TCERA says: “Retired members are adjusted each April 1 based on the year-end Consumer Price Index (CPI) for All Urban Consumers, All Items, (December 2017 = 100), Riverside-San Bernardino- Ontario.” “The adjustment is rounded to the nearest half of a percent, not to exceed 3% for Tier 1 and 2% for Tiers 2-4.” On the month used: “Since the December CPI is not published for the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario region, we are using the November CPI.”
Carryover
The letter explains the bank: “The 1937 Act specifies that the difference between the actual CPI percentage calculated without regard to the cap and the actual COLA used is to be accumulated and carried over each year.” “This accumulated carryover balance may be used to provide cost-of-living adjustments up to the maximum if the actual CPI increase is lower.”
The April 1, 2026 schedule
The letter states its purpose: “we are providing you with the April 1, 2026 cost-of-living adjustment schedule for TCERA members, prepared in accordance with Sections 31870.1 (Tier 1) and 31870 (Tiers 2-4) of the 1937 Act.” Its table gives 3.00% for Tier 1 and 2.00% for Tiers 2 to 4 for members whose initial retirement date is on or before April 1, 2026.
What the documents do not say
The TCERA website pages returned an access error to the archive, so only the actuary’s letter is archived. The board vote adopting the schedule is not archived, and statute text is not archived.
Where 2027 stands
The 2027 TCERA COLA is not published: it depends on the November 2026 CPI, and the actuary’s letter for the 2026 COLA was dated January 16, 2026.
Common mistakes
- Applying the 3% cap to Tiers 2 to 4. Their cap is 2%.
- Reading the 4.51% CPI rise as the COLA. The COLA is rounded and capped, and the excess goes to carryover.
- Using the December CPI. The letter uses November because no December CPI is published for this area.
Related: TCERA retirement decisions, how public pension decisions work, and whether California taxes pensions.
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Answer againSources
- TCERA (letter from Cheiron), April 1, 2026 Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) letter: tcera.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.