WHO WE ARE — CONTINUED

INVESTMENTS
LACERA's overall investment goal is to provide retirement benefits to our members through a strategically planned and well-executed long-term investment program. Under the authority of the Board of Investments, staff executes the investment policy primarily through the use of external investment managers.

To maximize the fund's total return while controlling risk, our investments are widely diversified across asset classes which include stocks, bonds, real estate, cash, and alternative assets.

The 2009 Actual Asset Allocation is based upon the Investment Summary in our FY 2009 annual report.

MEMBERSHIP OVERVIEW  The following is a summary of LACERA's membership as of June 30, 2009:
	Active Members	95,788
	Terminated Vested (Deferred) Members	8,051
	Retired Members	53,069
	Total Membership	156,908

CUSTOMER SERVICE OPTIONS
We are committed to providing our members with superior customer service and a wide variety of service options. To keep our members informed about our services and updated on our latest news, we communicate with them through newsletters and workshops, along with our web site, lacera.com.

Call Center
Members with questions regarding retirement matters may phone our Call Center at 1-800-786-6464 and speak with one of our Retirement Benefits Specialists. The Call Center is open Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Public Counter
We operate a Public Counter at our Pasadena office where members can receive one-on-one consultations with a Retirement Benefits Specialist. This service is available Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. and on some Saturdays. Members may walk-in or call for an appointment.

LACERA Workshops
Our Outreach staff presents New Member, Mid-Career, and Pre-Retirement Workshops at various County departments and at LACERA. Workshop schedules are posted online. Our specialists also provide in-home or hospital counseling to terminally ill members and their families.

New Member Workshop
New employees are encouraged to attend the New Member Workshop to learn about their retirement plan options and to determine which plan is best for them. We also have a New General Member Interactive Workshop on lacera.com, with video quizzes and decision-planning information.

Pre-Retirement Workshop
Employees who are within five years of retirement are encouraged to attend a Pre-Retirement Workshop. This workshop informs members about retirement eligibility, how to select the most advantageous retirement date, purchasing service credit, Additional Retirement Credit (ARC), and survivor benefits. The various retirement options and LACERA-sponsored health insurance are also explained. Each registered workshop attendee also receives a companion Pre-Retirement Guide, along with preliminary computations of the member's benefits (Retirement Benefit Estimate) and possible retirement dates.

Publications
We publish two quarterly newsletters, Spotlight on Retirement for retired members, and PostScript for active members. These publications keep our members updated on member service enhancements, retiree benefits, legislation that impacts the retirement system, and general LACERA news.

Online
Our web site, lacera.com, provides members 24-hour access to all things LACERA:

• Overview of the association.
• Retirement information for New, Active, and Retired members.
• New General Member Interactive Workshop.
• Updates on the association's investments, including fund performance and annual reports.
• LACERA career opportunities.
• Online calculators: retirement, ARC, and plan transfers.
• Ask LACERA: Instant answers to general questions.
• My LACERA provides members secure 24-hour online access to their personal membership data and the ability to create their own Retirement Benefit Estimate online.
• Retiree health care information.
• Current and past issues of LACERA newsletters.
• Brochures and forms for viewing, printing, or ordering.