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Public Agency PEPRA Member Contribution Rates FAQs

Members

As a public agency PEPRA member, you’ll see a change in the amount of your member contribution rate that is withheld from your paycheck that funds your CalPERS pension.

No, public agency classic member contributions are set by the law that created the specific classic retirement benefit formulas.

You’ll see the increased withholding from your paycheck beginning with the first pay period that ends on or after July 1, 2023.

The law states that PEPRA employees must pay half of the plan's total normal cost rate. The total normal cost rate is determined by looking at the annual cost of providing benefits to active PEPRA employees for the upcoming fiscal year. Decreases or increases to the PEPRA member contribution rate occur if the current total normal cost rate changes more than 1% from the base total normal cost rate (the rate used to set the current PEPRA member contribution rate).

No, the rate could decrease, stay the same, or increase in any given year.

You can find your member contribution on the CalPERS website at Public Agency PEPRA Member Contributions.

You can contact your employer’s Human Resources Office or contact the CalPERS Customer Contact Center at 888-CalPERS (or 888-225-7377).

Employers

Several actuarial assumptions changed in the June 30, 2021 actuarial valuations. These changes include the change of the discount rate from 7% to 6.8%, changes to mortality rates, expected future pay increases, and other demographic assumptions. All plans experienced an increase in normal cost due to the decrease of the discount rate. The remaining assumption changes, particularly expected future pay increases, affected some plans more than others. If these changes increased the total normal cost more than the 1% threshold, PEPRA member rates increased.

Each year, by law, the total normal costs are recalculated for each active plan as part of the actuarial valuation. If the normal cost in any year is 1% or more higher or lower than the base normal cost (normal cost at the time of the last member contribution rate change), the PEPRA member contribution rate must be adjusted to equal half of the new total normal cost rate, rounded to the nearest quarter of 1%.

The PEPRA member contribution rates are already loaded into your myCalPERS account and take effect the first pay period that ends July 1 or later. You must update your agency’s internal payroll systems to match the PEPRA rates in myCalPERS. myCalPERS will not post payroll records if member contribution calculations are not updated using the new PEPRA member contribution rates.

The normal cost for plans is calculated annually as part of the annual actuarial valuation. The normal cost rate is determined by looking at the cost of providing benefits to active employees and allocating the cost as a level percentage of payroll from entry age to retirement. By law, the PEPRA member contribution rate is approximately 50% of the total normal cost of the PEPRA member benefits.

Normal cost increases or decreases are due to several factors including changes to demographics, actuarial assumptions, and retirement benefits offered by the plan.

The PEPRA member contribution rate is unaffected by the UAL.

You can find these rates through three sources: