Meet the Team: Lauren Thompson, Assistant CEO

I joined the SBCERS team in February 2014 as an Investment Analyst, and became Assistant CEO for Finance in September 2018. Prior to joining SBCERS, I worked for RVK, Inc. an institutional investment consulting firm as a Manager Research Analyst. 

What brought you to SBCERS?

My husband and I moved to Santa Barbara in 2012 when he entered the History department at UCSB to pursue his PhD. After working remotely for a year and a half I was ecstatic to be offered a job at SBCERS in 2014. I had spent the first part of my career working as an investment consultant, helping pension plans like SBCERS invest their assets. Coming to SBCERS allowed me to use the skills I had learned as a consultant and also to learn all of the intricacies of managing a public pension plan. I have thoroughly enjoyed my first five years at SBCERS and look forward to many more.

What question are you asked the most by retirees?

In my position I don’t get to spend as much time with our members as my colleagues in Member Services. When I do get the chance to talk to members, they are interested in learning more about how we invest the portfolio. We aim to return 7.0% per year, and in fiscal year 2018 we returned 7.8%. Over the past few years I have been working with our investment consultants and the Board on implementing new investment strategies that will further diversify the portfolio and enable it to perform optimally during all different types of market conditions.

What do you do in your free time?

I have two kids under the age of four so I don’t have a lot of “free” time! On the weekends you can usually find us out and about – at the Santa Barbara Zoo, the Natural History Museum or any of the awesome parks around Santa Barbara and Goleta. We also love to head up to the Santa Ynez valley for picnics and wine tasting. 

Click   HERE   to read a PDF version. 

COLA Posting on May 1, 2019

The 2019 Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) will be posted for eligible members in the May 1, 2019 Benefit Payment. Most members will receive a 3% COLA and 1% COLA bank increase, depending on the plan . If you are a member of Plan 2, you will not receive an adjustment to your pay.

2019 COLA Tracker

For March 2019, Los Angeles Area Inflation (year over year) was 2.71%. The average monthly increase for 2019 to date is 2.79%.

Click HERE   or on the chart to see monthly inflation figures compared to last year. 

Want to track the COLA on your own? On the 15th of each month, the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor statistics releases CPI data for Los Angeles. Click   HERE   to read the current Bureau of Labor Statistics report.