Looking Ahead to 2025: A Message from SBCERA’s CEO

December 27, 2024

Post December 19, 2024

As we reflect on this last year, I’m deeply grateful for our team here at SBCERA and for our partnership with all of you—our valued members and public servants who serve San Bernardino communities.

Our team remains focused on our service to you, while continuing to plan for the future.

Invested in Your Future

Providing you with retirement security is central to our mission. Through strategic and opportunistic investing, we closed our fiscal year with a 9.3% return on investments and are now managing over $16 billion in assets.

I’m proud of our award-winning investment team for their diligence and proactive posture that prepared our fund for today’s economic climate. I’m also grateful we have a supportive Board that continues to empower our team to work together cohesively, allowing us to be nimble enough to make quick decisions and take advantage of market opportunities.

Reflecting on 2024

Member Engagement Survey

Providing our members with a superior service experience is one of our strategic pillars. Earlier this year, we conducted our most recent member engagement survey. The purpose of the survey is simple: we want to provide the best experience to all of our 50,000-plus active and retired members.

Your honest responses have helped tell us what you think we’re doing well, and what you think we can improve on.

The survey results were gratifying with 86% of members saying they trust SBCERA to administer their retirement benefits and 88% saying they were satisfied with their most recent contact with us. Meanwhile, 89% of members said the SBCERA website was easy to navigate, and more than 90% of members who utilized the self-service options introduced last year in mySBCERA (your online member portal) found the process easy.

While most members agree SBCERA provides good customer service and are satisfied with their most recent contact with us, we’re committed to improving this area. We look forward to identifying more ways we can better serve you.

Financial Literacy Courses

Whether our members are retired or planning for retirement, informed financial planning is essential to achieving their financial goals. That’s why SBCERA partnered with Financial Knowledge to begin offering a variety of free financial education courses to our members. From budgeting tips to retirement planning, there’s something for everyone, no matter where they are at on their financial journey. Courses are conducted by certified financial planner professionals and are designed to empower our members in managing their personal finances.

We Are SBCERA Campaign

From deputies and firefighters keeping communities safe to doctors helping children cope with loss and fear to scientists helping protect the air we breathe, SBCERA members provide many essential services for San Bernardino County residents.

To celebrate our members’ contributions and service to our community, we launched the We Are SBCERA video series. These videos are full of personal experiences, purpose, the impact of service, and so much more. In addition to sharing their career paths and the importance of their work, members reflect on SBCERA and the retirement security it provides to both them and their families.

Keep an eye out for the latest installment of the series in 2025.

Board Election

SBCERA is governed by a Board of Retirement consisting of nine members and three alternate members who have a constitutional, statutory, and fiduciary duty to administer the retirement system in a sound and prudent manner.

This year we introduced a new and more accessible election process to fill two of the three board positions up for election. For the first time, SBCERA members had the option of voting by mail or in a secure online environment. Not surprisingly, a majority of voting members—77% to be exact—chose the convenience of casting their ballots online.

San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Marc Bracco was re-elected to serve as the Safety Member, and San Bernardino County Fire Captain Jared Newcomer was re-elected to serve as the Alternate Safety Member.

San Bernardino County Chief Financial Officer Matthew Erickson was unopposed in his bid to serve as a General Elected Member.

Each trustee will serve a three-year term, effective January 1, 2025, through December 31, 2027.

More information about our Board of Retirement can be found at www.SBCERA.org/Board-Retirement.