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You will be asked to bring certain documents with you to the counseling session. Please be prepared to bring your social security card, your birth certificate, your spouses birth certificate, marriage certificate, dissolution papers, and drivers license. Special Note: If are a reciprocal member, you retire concurrently from all systems with which you have established reciprocity. This means that you have the responsibility to notify each system of your planned retirement date and remind them that you are a reciprocity (inter-system member) so that all systems will coordinate your effective date of retirement. Retirement benefits from ACERA are lifetime benefits. Depending upon the option you select at the time of retirement, an eligible beneficiary (if living) may also receive a monthly continuance of your retirement allowance in the event of your death. Retirement allowances are paid monthly and are dated the last business day of each month.

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If you are planning to retire within the next ninety (90) days, you need to contact the Retirement Office to schedule an appointment with a retirement specialist. During your counseling session, you will be counseled on the retirement benefits, allowance options and benefit deductions available once you retire. Retirement applications must be received no earlier than sixty (60) days prior to the effective date of your retirement. For this reason, your appointment will generally be scheduled within two (2) months of your retirement date. If you already have an estimate of your Social Security benefits, you should provide this to the retirement staff. If you do not have your estimated Social Security benefits statement, you may want to request one from Social Security.

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In Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code, the IRS limits the dollar amounts that can be paid as retirement allowances. Section 415 contains special rules for determining the limitations applicable to your benefits if you participate in more than one qualified retirement plan. Since ACERA is a qualified retirement plan, the system is required to impose the limitations contained in Section 415 of the code. These limitations may operate to reduce or restrict the rights and benefits otherwise payable to you under the system. You may or may not be affected by these section 415 limits. For more information, contact the retirement office.

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ACERA can withhold deductions only for the following items:
• ACERA sponsored healthcare;
• Retirement sponsored dental care;
• Some continued life insurance;
• PERS Long Term Care Insurance
• Retiree Association Dues;
• Federal and State withholding taxes;
• First United Services Credit Union Deductions

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A qualified spouse is the person to whom you have been married to for more than a year prior to your retirement.

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No. ACERA is required to protect the confidentiality of member records. Questions about your account cannot be answered without your written consent or under court action.

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No. The Retirement Office does not administer your Deferred Compensation Plan. Questions should be directed to the Treasurer-Tax Collectors Office, (510) 272-6809. Their staff will be able to answer any questions and send you all the necessary information on the Deferred Compensation Plan.

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The purchase of additional service credit may be made by lump sum payment or through payroll deductions for a period not to exceed five (5) years, depending upon the type of service purchased. If you choose to pay for service credit through installments, additional retirement contributions will be deducted from your bi-weekly paycheck each pay period. This amount is in addition to your normal contribution deductions. All purchases, buybacks or redeposits must be completed prior to filing for retirement. Redeposits and purchases provided through payroll deductions are on a tax-deferred basis, whereas lump sum payments are on an after-tax basis.

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A purchase of service credit is different from a redeposit in that you purchase service time that you have never had. For example, if you had previously worked for a public agency where there was no pension plan or you may be eligible to purchase additional service credit for time worked with any of the following agencies. You must be ineligible for a retirement benefit from any of these agencies except military reserve, to complete a service credit purchase:
• Federal Government, including military service (only for those hired on or before August 10, 1972)
• Alameda County and any city within Alameda County
• Any County in the State of California, including San Luis Obispo & San Francisco
• Any public school district in Alameda County
• East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD)
• Port of Oakland
• State of California Interest is included in your cost of public service purchases. This interest is what your money would have earned, if it had been in the trust during the time being purchased. The interest charged is credited to your individual account so you are paying interest to yourself. This interest remains in your account and earns additional interest for you, until you either withdraw or retire. Please note that this credit may not be used to meet the minimum qualifications for regular service retirement, or for service and non-service connected disability.

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What are Redeposits?


A redeposit is a payment of contributions plus interest for any previous service time. For example, if you left ACERA covered employment in the past and withdrew your retirement contributions plus related interest, you have no retirement service credit for that period of service. You can restore this service credit in full if you redeposit (pay back) these withdrawn contributions, with interest. Your rate of contribution will be based on your age nearest to your date of re-entry into ACERA. For more information, contact the Retirement Office.

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Is there any way I can add additional retirement service credit to my service time?


You may be eligible to add service credit to your account if you had prior public service, or had withdrawn contributions, by purchasing or redepositing service credit. Any purchases or redeposits must be completed prior to your effective date of retirement. Purchases and redeposits are governed by different government code sections. Service credit that can be purchased and or redeposited include:
• Previously withdrawn contributions,
• Eligible sick leave without pay (covered by SDI),
• County service prior to membership (the first period of service prior to membership, part-time service, or service in a position not eligible for retirement contributions).
• Prior public service
• Military Time
Payments include the appropriate member contributions, plus interest. Purchase and redeposit payments may be done via payroll deduction, lump sum payment or a combination of the two. Note that purchasing service credit for prior public service cannot be used to meet the minimum qualifications for regular service retirement, service and non-service connected disability retirement, deferred retirement or the death benefit.

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How do I convert my sick leave balance at retirement?


Upon retirement, 50% of your unused sick leave balance is converted to retirement service and added to your years of service. Generally, the maximum number of allowable sick leave days that may be converted to retirement service credit is 125 days which converts to 2 months, 29 days of additional service Service credit for sick leave is only available for employees who go directly from active employment into retirement. If you defer your retirement and begin drawing a retirement benefit at a later date, you do not get credit for any sick leave that was on the books when you terminated employment.

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What happens to my unused time left (such as vacation, floating holidays, comp time, sick leave) when I retire?


Any unused compensatory (comp) time or unused floating holidays are lost once you retire. If it is not used by the first day of your retirement, you "lose it". There is no sell back option for floating holidays or compensatory time. You receive no additional boost in benefit (time or money) for unused floating holidays and compensatory time. Vacation time can be carried up to retirement and then "cashed out". The maximum amount you can "cash out" is limited to two times your normal annual vacation allowance. For example, if you normally earn two (2) weeks of vacation annually, you may carry up to four (4) weeks (20 days) and be "cashed-out" for your vacation from the County at termination. You do not receive any service credit for any "cashed-out" vacation. Any vacation time over the maximum limitation is on a "use it or lose it" basis. However, while excess vacation does not increase your retirement service, it does affect your final compensation, under the Ventura decision. Any cash received for unused vacation time may be boost the amount of your retirement allowance. See Final Compensation.

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Ive been a County employee for 25 years, but during a recent retirement estimate, I only had 22 years of retirement service. Why dont the two numbers match?


It is important to know that years of service in the retirement system most likely will not be the same as the number of years employed with the County. Retirement service credit is counted when you make contributions towards your retirement, not when you are first employed. There is no service credit for periods where no retirement contributions are taken, for example leave without pay, part-time, or in retirement ineligible positions (i.e. intermittent or project position, disability, etc.) Also, if you had at anytime withdrawn any contributions and not redeposited those periods withdrawn do not count towards retirement.

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What if Ive retired and the person named as beneficiary on my retirement contract dies before I do?


In the event that your named beneficiary pre-deceases you, you may name a new beneficiary by downloading and filling out the Retiree Accumulated Contributions Beneficiary Designation Form. You may also contact ACERA to request a form. NOTE: New beneficiary will receive only a refund of any unused member contributions and interest. He/she would not get a lifetime retirement allowance.

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What is Retirement Service Credit?


Service credit is the measure of time earned as a member in ACERA. Service credit, one of three factors used in determining your benefit at retirement, plays an important part in determining what your retirement benefit will be when you retire. The more retirement service credit you have, the higher your benefit. The other two factors are age at retirement and your highest monthly final average salary for any one or three year period (depending on whether you are a Tier 1 or Tier 2 member).

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Is this retirement plan the same as the deferred comp? And whats the difference between this retirement plan and a 401 (k) or other retirement plans?


The ACERA plan is not associated with the deferred compensation plan offered through the County. A 401(k) and a 457 plan (deferred comp) is a defined contribution plan, which means you receive a retirement allowance based upon the amount of money you contributed, any interest earned and any employer matching funds. The benefit lasts so long as the funds in your account are available. The ACERA retirement plan, is a "defined benefit" plan which provides a retirement benefit for life, regardless of the amount of money you contributed. The following chart illustrates the differences.

	Defined benefit plan (ACERA, PERS, ’37 Act Counties)	Defined Contribution Plan (401(k), 457 — deferred comp.)
Payments depend on…	Your age, service and salary	The amount in your account
The performance of the stock and bond markets	Has no effect on the amount of money you receive when you retire.	Affects your investment earnings and thus the size of your account balance
Payments last…	For your lifetime (and possibly for your beneficiary’s)	Until the money in your account is gone
If the cost of living increases…	You may be eligible for a cost of living increase	Your dollars don’t go as far

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What is Vesting?


Being vested means you have a non-forfeitable right to receive an ACERA retirement benefit upon meeting certain eligibility requirements. You have a vested right to apply for a service-connected disability retirement, if eligible, as soon as you join ACERA (see Disability Section). You are always 100% vested in your employee contributions. Employer contributions are realized only upon retirement from ACERA. You are vested after accumulating five (5) full years of membership in ACERA. Once you are vested in ACERA, you will then be eligible to apply for a deferred retirement or non-service connected disability retirement. If you withdraw (refund) your accumulated retirement contributions when you terminate employment, you forfeit all future rights (vested and non-vested) to any retirement, survivor, and disability benefits.

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What happens if I die while on Deferred Retirement?


If your death occurs while you are on deferred retirement, your named beneficiary will receive a lump sum distribution of your contributions and interest.

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When am I eligible to retire?


Members may retire at any time provided they meet these minimum eligibility requirements: General Members (Tier I and Tier II) may retire:
• at age 50, or older, with 10 or more years of service credit;
• at any age with 30 or more years of service credit;
• at age 70 or older with any amount of service credit.
Safety Members (Tier I and Tier II) may retire:
• at age 50, or older, with 10 or more years of service credit;
• at any age with 20 or more years of service credit;
• at age 70 or older with any amount of service credit.

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Do I choose a Benefit Option when I turn in my Retirement Application?


Eight to eleven weeks after your retirement begins (which is the day after your last day on payroll) you will receive a package from ACERA. In the package will be your final option papers and some other information on retirement. The option agreement is a contract and cannot be changed after you have signed for your option choices.

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How often and when will receive my checks?


Retirement benefit allowances are paid on a monthly basis. You may choose to have your checks directly deposited into your bank account (via direct deposit) or have a check mailed to your home. Checks will be mailed and funds transferred to retirees on the last business day of each month.

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Do I have to make an appointment with a retirement specialist?


Yes, in order to properly counsel you on your retirement benefit options and your account, you should call ACERA to schedule a counseling session.

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I would like to retire soon, what do I need to do before I retire?


Once you know that your retirement is just around the corner, there are several things you need to do:
• Attend a Retirement Workshop;
• Notify your Department of your Retirement Date;
• Call the Retirement Office for a Counseling Session;
• Contact your deferred compensation provider about your deferred compensation program.
You should give as much notice as possible to ACERA of your intended retirement. Four (4) to six (6) months would be appropriate.

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When Does My Retirement Actually Begin?


Retirement begins the day after your last day on paid status with the County.

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Is It Possible To Withdraw My Retirement Contributions Without Terminating Employment?


No. There are no provisions for an emergency withdrawal of funds from your ACERA account. Internal Revenue Service regulations and ACERA plan provisions prohibit the withdrawal of funds except when a member terminates employment.

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