Feature Story

SDCERS Receives Certificate of Transparency from NCPERS
August 29, 2024

SDCERS was one of 157 public pension plans that participated in the National Conference on Public Retirement Systems’ (NCPERS) 2024 study, which invited public pension systems across the continent to share information on plan design, investment allocation, investment returns, actuarial assumptions, and plan governance practices. In recognition of SDCERS’ participation, NCPERS awarded SDCERS with its Certificate of Transparency. This certificate acknowledges SDCERS’ commitment to furthering an atmosphere of openness between public pension systems and the public. As “transparency” is one of SDCERS’ six core values, we were honored to receive this award. SDCERS strives to promote and maintain an open and honest relationship with its members, plan sponsors, and the public.



NCPERS is the largest trade association for public pensions, representing approximately 500 plans, plan sponsors, and other stakeholders through the U.S. and Canada. As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, NCPERS is comprises a network of trustees, administrators, public officials, and investment processionals who collectively oversee approximately $4 trillion in retirement funds.

 

Feature Story

SDCERS' Physical Offices Closed Until Further Notice
August 19, 2024

UPDATE: Our physical offices will reopen Monday, August 26, 2024.


ATTENTION: Due to an ongoing A/C outage, SDCERS' physical downtown offices will be closed until the problem is resolved. However, SDCERS staff continues to work remotely at this time.

If you have an in-person retirement counseling appointment this week, your counselor will reach out to you with further instructions or your options for rescheduling.

Please contact the Call Center at (619) 525-3600 if you have any additional questions or concerns. The Call Center is open on regular business days from 9:00 am. - noon, and 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you in advance for your understanding! This article will be updated when our offices are able to reopen.

 

Feature Story

SDCERS' Board Welcomes New Vice President
July 19, 2024

At the July 12th Board meeting, SDCERS’ new Board President, Lisa Marie Harris, appointed Clifford Schireson to her previous position of Vice President, with the Board unanimously confirming his appointment. The Vice President’s duties include acting as the Board President whenever the Board President is absent or otherwise unable to fulfill their duties, and temporarily assuming the role of Board President until an election can be scheduled in the event the current Board President’s seat becomes vacant. Mr. Schireson will also continue his position as the Chair of the Investment Committee.



Please join us in welcoming our new Vice President! Mr. Schireson’s biography can be found on our Board Members page. You can also watch the July 12, 2024 Board meeting here.

Feature Story

New Member Contribution Rates for FY 2025
July 02, 2024

IMPORTANT: These changes only apply to (1) all City of San Diego members and (2) Port Safety members who were hired on or after January 1, 2013.
 
Member contributions are the mandatory pre-tax deductions on a member’s biweekly paycheck that are deposited into the SDCERS Trust Fund, where they earn interest and ultimately fund each member’s individual pension benefit. Contributions are calculated as a percentage of the member’s pensionable salary on each paycheck. The percentage is determined according to the member’s plan tier and age of entry into SDCERS. Contribution rates are adjusted by SDCERS’ Board, as recommended by SDCERS’ actuary, based on requirements in the City of San Diego Charter and the Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013. 
 
At its May 2024 meeting, SDCERS’ Board of Administration approved new member contribution rates, which will go into effect on July 1, 2024 for all Port Safety Members hired on or after January 1, 2013, and all City of San Diego members. You can view your current contribution rate chart by going to “Retirement Plan Summaries” and clicking on your employer and date range corresponding to your initial hire date. You can also see how your contribution rate changed by reviewing the chart corresponding to your plan tier and locating your entry age. (Note: If you log in to your Member Portal account and go to “SDCERS Account Information,” you can find your entry age there.) Most members will experience slightly increased contribution rates – this is due to changes in certain actuarial assumptions. The aggregate average across the board increase was approximately 1 percentage point.
 
According to the most recent annual valuation, the most significant change to the economic assumptions was an increase in the annual cost of living adjustment (“COLA”), from 1.90% to 2.00%. In addition, the price inflation and wage inflation assumptions were updated. Previously, the price inflation assumption and the wage inflation assumption were both 3.05%. Under the revised assumptions, the price inflation assumption is 3.00% and the wage inflation assumption is 3.25%, which is price inflation plus productivity. There were other minor adjustments to the demographic assumptions, including a change to the assumed mortality improvement scale to better anticipate future improvements in life expectancy. Overall, the new assumptions increase the expected cost to the system; therefore, members and their plan sponsors must contribute more while they are working in order to keep the system properly funded, given the added cost due to these new assumptions.

Feature Story

Important Reminder RE Medicare Medical Insurance Premiums
June 07, 2024

If you receive anything in the mail from the Social Security Administration (“SSA”) or Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”), it is extremely important that you open it immediately!
 
A small number of SDCERS’ retirees have experienced issues related to their Medicare Part B premiums. The affected retirees were required to pay their Medicare Part B premiums directly to CMS because they either 1) do not receive a monthly Social Security benefit, or 2) do receive a monthly Social Security benefit, but the amount is not enough to cover their Medicare Part B premiums. However, these retirees failed to make timely payments for their Part B premiums to CMS, resulting in the loss of their Medicare Part B coverage, and were subsequently either disenrolled from a sponsored Medicare Supplemental plan or they were switched to a much more expensive non-Medicare plan, with the higher monthly premiums owed retroactively to the date they lost their Medicare coverage.  
 
If you fail to pay your monthly or quarterly Medicare Part B premiums in full and on time, you may become delinquent, causing your Medicare coverage to be at risk. Note that we have received reports from retirees stating that they never received information from the SSA regarding unpaid premiums before their Medicare coverage was terminated! Medicare may not send monthly or quarterly invoices – if you are paying all or a portion of your Medicare Part B premiums directly to CMS, it is imperative that you periodically check with the SSA to confirm your premiums are paid in full and on time.
 
If you have concerns about your status with Medicare, you should contact Social Security online at www.SSA.gov, go in person to any Social Security Office, or contact Social Security by phone at (800) 633-4227.
 
 If you have not yet started your Medicare application process, please contact your local SSA office or visit www.SSA.gov to find out if you are eligible and see information on how to apply.
 
Please evaluate your healthcare coverage options carefully! Enrolling in a Medicare insurance plan may reduce your costs.  However, note that you should not enroll in Medicare Part D (Prescription Drug Coverage) if you are enrolling in a health plan that already includes prescription drug coverage, because enrolling in Part D may result in the termination of your current health insurance coverage.
 
Health plan experts are available at CareCounsel to assist retirees, free of charge, with any health plan questions including questions about Medicare – email staff@carecounsel.com or call (888) 227-3334 Monday – Friday, open from 6:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. PST. CareCounsel also provides helpful videos on their website that may answer your questions about Medicare: https://carecounsel.com/medicare.html.

Feature Story

Lisa Marie Harris Elected as New Board President
May 15, 2024

SDCERS is excited to announce Lisa Marie Harris as the SDCERS Board of Administration’s President.  Lisa Marie will be serving a one-year Presidential term with the possibility to serve a second one-year term.  Lisa Marie previously served two terms as the Board Vice-President with service as interim President and interim Investment Committee Chair.   Former Board President, Paul Kaufmann, served with distinction during his two one-year terms and confidently passed the gavel to Lisa Marie’s capable hands upon unanimous support from the entire board.  We look forward to her continued leadership in her new position. 



Congratulations to our Board Vice President! You can see all of the SDCERS Board Members’ biographies, including Lisa Marie's, on this page.

Feature Story

Reminder Regarding City Retiree Health
March 29, 2024

Please remember that SDCERS staff teleworks for a portion of each week, and there may not always be a retiree health staff member available in the office to assist members in person. Moving forward, if you would like to speak with a retiree health staff member in person, you must travel to SDCERS’ downtown offices on a Tuesday or Thursday (excluding holidays) between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.

You are encouraged to call ahead to confirm availability of a retiree health staff member, especially if you are requesting to have your documents reviewed. SDCERS’ Call Center is open on regular business days from 9:00 a.m. – noon, and 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.

You can also reach SDCERS’ retiree health staff via email, at health@sdcers.org.

Feature Story

Retiring Before vs. After the Beginning of a New Fiscal Year
February 29, 2024

When it comes to retirement or entering DROP, timing is everything. One consideration when choosing your date is the effect of retiring or entering DROP before versus on June 30th (or earlier) compared to July 1st (or later) of any given year.
 
The main benefit of retiring or entering DROP towards the end of a fiscal year is that you will receive the next fiscal year’s cost of living adjustment (“COLA”) much sooner than if you wait to retire or enter DROP until the beginning of the next fiscal year. Everyone who retires or enters DROP before July 1st in any given year is eligible to receive that year’s COLA on their July pension payment, which usually increases your base pension benefit by 1-2% (maximum of 2% per year). However, if you retire or enter DROP on or after July 1st, you won’t receive a COLA until the July of the following year, when the next fiscal year begins. For example, let’s say your base pension benefit is $3,000 per month. If you retire on June 30, 2024 and the COLA effective July 1, 2024 is 2%, you’ll receive an additional $60 on each month’s pension check from July 2024 through June 2025, which comes to an additional $720 for the year. That’s $720 you’d miss out on if you chose to retire on or after July 1, 2024. (Note: The fiscal year 2025 COLA, effective July 2024, will be decided at the May 10, 2024 Board meeting – you can check SDCERS’ website the following week, which will have an article on the front page announcing what the July 2024 COLA will be.)
 
On the flip side, it’s possible you could increase your base pension benefit by waiting until after a new fiscal year has begun to retire or enter DROP. The logic behind this conclusion lies in your pension benefit formula: Retirement Factor x Final Compensation x Service Credit. First, retiring at an older age may grant you a higher retirement factor – remember that retirement factors are prorated in quarterly increments, so if your plan tier’s factor increases between age 62 and 63, for example, it will be slightly higher if you retire at age 62 ¼ compared to age 62. Second, the longer you continue to work before you retire, the more service credit you will accrue. In general, more service credit means a higher pension benefit. Lastly, if you recently received a salary increase, working longer while receiving that higher salary can increase your final compensation. Looking at the pension benefit formula, you can see that an increased final compensation will result in a greater pension benefit.
 
However, the thing to remember about your final compensation is that you must receive the higher salary for at least several months in order for it to have a noticeable effect on your pension benefit amount. The “Final Compensation” used in your pension benefit calculation is your highest pensionable salary averaged over either one or three years, depending on your plan tier. Therefore, if you only began receiving your increased salary in the beginning of the calendar year, you may want to keep working for at least several months into the new fiscal year in order to see a significant difference in your benefit amount. In order for your higher salary to be used in full when calculating your benefit, you’d have to continue working for one or three years from the date of your salary increase, again depending on your plan tier.
 
One more possible benefit of retiring or entering DROP after the start of a new fiscal year has to do with your cost of living (“COL”) annuity and interest applied to member contributions.* Your member contributions receive annual interest, currently at a rate of 6.5%, applied every June 30th. However, your contribution account do not receive that year’s interest if you are retired or participating in DROP before July 1st. Depending on your specific circumstances and the COLA for that year, waiting to retire or enter DROP until after the interest has been applied to your contributions may increase your COL annuity to such an extent that the higher COL annuity, combined with any other applicable benefits of waiting as discussed above, could be more financially beneficial to you than the COLA would be. If this is true in your case, it could make more sense to retire or enter DROP on or after July 1st. (Note: The same logic applies to your Surviving Spouse Annuity, if you select the Maximum Benefit (Single) retirement benefit option – see the Retirement Benefit Options Fact Sheet for more information.)
 
*Police officers hired on or after August 1, 2012 and Port General 2024 Members do not receive the COL annuity.
 
To be clear, the financial pros and cons of retiring or entering DROP before vs. after the start of a new fiscal year depend on multiple factors and your individual circumstances. There is no one size fits all regarding retirement/DROP entry date – it is a very personal decision and should be made after careful consideration of all relevant factors. This article is intended to inform you of some possible benefits of retiring before or after July 1st of a given year. Also, if you are considering entering DROP, please be reminded that your DROP entry date must be on the first day of a pay period – the last day to enter DROP before the beginning of Fiscal Year 2025 will be June 22, 2024 for City members and June 28, 2024 for Port and Airport members. Please submit your service retirement or DROP entry application via your Member Portal account soon if you are thinking about retiring or entering DROP before July 1st, so you can schedule a counseling appointment in May or early June – don’t procrastinate!
 

Feature Story

2023 1099-R Tax Forms
January 18, 2024

All IRS Form 1099-R’s for tax year 2023 were mailed on January 16th. This means all SDCERS retirees and beneficiaries who received a payment from SDCERS in calendar year 2023 should be receiving their 2023 1099-R forms via U.S. mail over the next couple of weeks. To access your 1099-R form sooner, please log in to your Member Portal account, click on “Tax Reporting” on the left, and select “2023 1099R” to download an electronic copy. You can also update your tax withholding preferences on your Member Portal by clicking on “Tax Withholding.” This guide explains how to update your tax withholding preferences.
 
For a detailed explanation of the pertinent information in your 1099-R, as well as answers to frequently asked questions regarding this tax form, please review our 1099-R Fact Sheet. If you have additional questions, please contact the Call Center at (619) 525-3600 or submit your questions electronically via our Contact Us web form.

Feature Story

City Retirees: Notice Regarding 2024 Medicare Part B Premiums
November 30, 2023

If you are a City retiree currently receiving health reimbursements from SDCERS for Medicare Part B premiums, you should have recently received a letter in the mail from SDCERS. The standard Medicare Part B premiums are increasing from $164.90 to $174.70 per month, beginning in January 2024.

Please submit the 2024 Benefit Verification Letter to SDCERS as soon as possible, confirming the changes to your Medicare Part B premium. Note that if you are paying your premiums out of pocket, you will not have a Benefit Verification Letter, and instead will need to provide SDCERS with the statement you should receive from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). If your premium has not changed, you do not need to submit anything.
 
To obtain your 2024 Benefit Verification Letter, visit www.ssa.gov, and then either sign in or sign up for a personal “my Social Security” account. Once you’ve accessed your account, follow the instructions to download your Benefit Verification Letter. You can also call your local Social Security office. Please do not contact SDCERS for help accessing this letter, as SDCERS staff will be unable to assist.
 
We are anticipating a large number of submissions this year due to the premium change. If you submit all of the proper paperwork to SDCERS and it is received by our office on or before January 10, 2024, we will do our best to have the updated premium amount reimbursement reflected on your January 2024 pension benefit payment. If your paperwork is received after this date, or if we were unable to process your paperwork in time, then the adjusted reimbursement amount will be included in the following payroll cycle, assuming all required documentation is received.
 
You may submit your 2024 Benefit Verification Letter to SDCERS in the following ways:

• *E-mail a copy (in PDF format) to: health@sdcers.org

• Fax a copy to: (858) 581-5314

• Mail a copy to: 401 West A Street, Suite 800, San Diego, CA 92101 Attn: Health

 
*IMPORTANT: Email is the fastest way to provide SDCERS with your documents. However, if you submit your Benefit Verification Letter (and/or any other health-related paperwork) via email, please be sure any attachments are in PDF format only. You should receive an automated confirmation email within 24 hours of your email submission; however, if you do not receive this confirmation email, it does not necessarily mean we didn’t receive your email. First, please check your spam or junk folder to see if the confirmation email ended up there.
 
Please refrain from calling us to confirm that your Benefit Verification Letter has been received. The SDCERS staff who answer the phones are also processing the documents, and additional phone calls may cause delays. If you believe you provided us with timely documentation, but are not reimbursed the increased amount in your January 2024 pension payment, then please contact our Retiree Health Team at (619) 525-3600 or health@sdcers.org in February.
 

Feature Story

SDCERS Board Approves Annual Supplemental Benefit Payment for 2023
November 03, 2023

At its November 3, 2023 meeting, SDCERS’ Board of Administration approved payment of the Annual Supplemental Benefit for eligible retirees and continuance beneficiaries. The Annual Supplemental Benefit is paid in years when the fund’s investment earnings are sufficient to qualify, according to a set formula defined in the plan documents.
 
In addition, the Corbett Settlement Increase (“Corbett benefit”) is paid to eligible retirees and continuance beneficiaries in years that the Annual Supplemental Benefit is paid. If you are eligible for one or both of these benefits, payment will be included in your November 2023 monthly pension payment.
 
The eligibility requirements for the Annual Supplemental Benefit and Corbett benefit are described in our FAQs under “Annual Supplemental Benefit, Corbett, COLA, COL Annuity.” Here, you will also find a description of how these benefits are calculated.
 
In addition to the requirements outlined in the FAQ’s, in order to be eligible for the 2023 Annual Supplemental Benefit, a retiree or continuance beneficiary must have been (1) alive, and (2) eligible to receive a monthly pension benefit payment on October 1, 2023. If an eligible retiree died on or after October 1, 2023, the retiree’s continuance beneficiary is not eligible for their own Annual Supplemental Benefit this year. In this case, the retiree’s Annual Supplemental Benefit payment will be included in the $2,000 Retiree Death Benefit and Other Payable Monies, which is paid to the beneficiary(ies) designated to receive that death benefit.

Feature Story

Calendar Year 2024 City Retiree Health Open Enrollment
October 27, 2023

Retiree health open enrollment for City of San Diego retirees will run from November 1st through November 30th. The calendar year 2024 City retiree health booklets have been mailed out to all eligible City retirees and beneficiaries, and an electronic version of the booklet is also available here. You can also download and complete enrollment forms by visiting the City Retiree Health page. After you’ve completed an enrollment (or disenrollment) form, you must send it to SDCERS by November 30th – we prefer you scan your forms and email them as a PDF attachment to health@sdcers.org, but you may also fax them to (858) 581-5314, or mail them to our offices at:
 
SDCERS – Health Division
401 West A Street, Suite 800
San Diego, CA 92101
 
As always, if you do not wish to make any changes to your current healthcare coverage, you do not need to take any action during open enrollment and your coverage will remain the same. There are no new plans this year and no significant changes to existing plans in terms of coverage, with the exception of the SCAN Medicare plan – please see this article for more information about upcoming changes to this plan.
 
SDCERS will not be holding any in-person open enrollment events. However, SDCERS will participate in the Retiree Help Day hosted by SDPEBA (San Diego Public Employee Benefit Association), which will be held on November 1st, beginning at 10:00 a.m. (PST). You can register for SDPEBA’s Retiree Help Day here.
 
If you are comparing different plans and trying to decide which is best for you, don’t forget about CareCounsel! CareCounsel Member Care Specialists are available for your healthcare inquiries and concerns. You can call them at (888) 227-3334 or e-mail staff@carecounsel.com Monday – Friday, 6:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. PST. CareCounsel also provides helpful videos on their website that may answer your questions about Medicare, here: https://carecounsel.com/medicare.html.
 
SDCERS’ Call Center is open Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to noon, and 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. (PST), at (619) 525-3600 and (800) 774-4977. Remember that if you need to come into our physical offices for any reason related to retiree health, please ensure you come in on a Tuesday or Thursday, between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (PST). Please be patient with our hard-working staff; we are working with limited resources and call wait times may be longer than usual due to an expected increase in health-related calls. You can also submit electronic inquiries through our Contact Us page.

Feature Story

2024 City Retiree Health Open Enrollment & Changes to SCAN Health Plan
September 27, 2023

City Retirees: 2024 City Retiree Health Open Enrollment will begin on November 1, 2023 and end November 30, 2023. The 2024 Retiree Health Booklets will be mailed in late October. This booklet provides details for all healthcare plans offered through the City of San Diego and the San Diego Public Employee Benefit Association (SDPEBA). You can also access an electronic version of this booklet on the City Retiree Health page. The electronic version will be available no later than October 30, 2023.

IMPORTANT: Significant changes are coming to the City's SCAN retiree health plan.
 
Effective January 1, 2024, Scripps Clinics and Scripps Coastal will no longer be part of the SCAN Health Plan provider network.
 
The Scripps relationship will continue for the following facilities:

• Mercy Physicians Medical Group

• Scripps Physicians Medical Group

• Primary Care Associates of California

• Prospect Medical Group

• Optum/PCAMG

• Greater Tri-Cities IPA (with some minimal changes)

If you are currently enrolled in the SCAN health plan, you should receive a letter in the mail from SCAN and a separate letter from SDCERS regarding these changes. You will also find the most up-to-date Primary Care Physician listings on the SCAN Health Plan website at www.scanhealthplan.com. If you choose to remain in the SCAN health plan for plan year 2024 and your current provider is associated with Scripps Clinic or Scripps Coastal, you will need to select a new provider. Alternatively, you can choose to enroll in a different City-sponsored Medicare plan. 
 
For assistance with plan comparisons and help making smart decisions when choosing providers, please remember to utilize the City’s free retiree health resource, CareCounsel. You can reach CareCounsel at 888-227-3334 or visit their website at www.carecounsel.com.
 
If you have any questions, you can contact SDCERS’ Call Center at (619) 525-3600, open on regular business days from 9:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. PST. However, as this is a significant change to retiree health and open enrollment is about to begin, we anticipate a higher than usual call volume over the next several months. If your question is not urgent, we encourage you to submit your request electronically via the Contact Us page. SDCERS staff will generally respond to electronic inquiries within one business day.

If you need to come into our physical offices for any reason related to retiree health, please remember to come in on a Tuesday or Thursday and we recommend calling ahead of time to ensure an appropriate staff member will be available to assist you.

Feature Story

Summer 2023 SCOOP Newsletter & FY 2023 Annual Member Statements
August 22, 2023

SDCERS’ 2023 Summer SCOOP Newsletter has arrived and should hit mailboxes within the next few weeks! For members who have not yet retired or entered DROP (including inactive and deferred vested members), a copy of the newsletter will be included in the envelope with your FY 2023 Annual Member Statement. You can also view an electronic version of current and past issues on our website, here. The purpose of our newsletter is to keep you informed about what is currently happening here at SDCERS, along with providing educational content. If you’d like to receive an electronic copy of future SCOOP issues in advance of the mailed copy, you can sign up here.
 
Along with the Summer Newsletter, SDCERS members who have earned SDCERS service credit, but who have not yet retired or entered DROP, should be receiving their Annual Member Statement in the mail within the next few weeks. This statement contains detailed account information for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, which means the information is current as of July 1, 2023. The purpose of the Annual Member Statement is (1) to ensure that your beneficiary designations are correct, and (2) to keep you up-to-date regarding the details of your SDCERS retirement account. You can also download electronic copies of current and past Annual Member Statements via your secure Member Portal account.
 
A video detailing the contents of your statement is available here.
 
Please review the information on your statement carefully. If you have questions about the Personal Information listed, please contact your Payroll Specialist or update your information in SAP (or contact your Human Resources office if you are a Port or Airport member).
 
Contact SDCERS if you have questions or need to update the Member and Contribution Information or Beneficiary Information, or if you believe there is an error in your statement.
 
If you have questions about your Annual Member Statement, please contact your Payroll Specialist or call the SDCERS Call Center at 619-525-3600, open Monday-Friday from 9:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. (PST). And remember, your most up-to-date account information is always available on the SDCERS Member Portal.

 

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Important Notice Regarding City Retiree Health & FY 2024 Retiree Health Reimbursement Allowances
July 06, 2023

As SDCERS staff teleworks for a portion of each week, there may not always be a retiree health staff member available in the office to assist members in person. Moving forward, if you would like to speak with a retiree health staff member in person, you must travel to SDCERS’ downtown offices on a Tuesday or Thursday (not including holidays) between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. You are encouraged to call ahead to confirm availability of a retiree health staff member, especially if you are requesting to have your documents reviewed. SDCERS’ Call Center is open on regular business days from 9:00 a.m. – noon, and 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. You can also reach SDCERS’ retiree health staff via email, at health@sdcers.org.
 
Also, if you have a retiree health reimbursement plan through your City employment, your annual reimbursement allowance may have changed for fiscal year 2024. See this chart for updated City retiree health reimbursement allowances, which vary depending on your specific health reimbursement plan.

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Calculating "Final Compensation" As Used In Your Pension Benefit Formula
June 08, 2023

Most City General Members are anticipating significant salary increases, staggered over the next couple of years. You can read about the negotiated increases in the MEA’s article, here. In light of this, we thought it would be helpful to provide a quick review of how “final compensation” is calculated and used in your pension benefit formula.
 
If you are a City General Member initially hired before July 1, 2009, then your final compensation is your highest one-year pensionable salary, approximately equal to your highest 26 consecutive pay periods prior to your retirement (or DROP entry) date.
 
If you are a City General Member initially hired on or after July 1, 2009, then your final compensation will be calculated as your highest pensionable salary averaged over three years.
 
The raises negotiated between the City and relevant labor unions will amount to a compounded total of a 22.8% increase as of July 1, 2025. For the sake of simplicity, let’s assume these negotiated increases are the only changes to your salary between now and your retirement (or DROP entry) date. In order for the full 22.8% increase to be used as your final compensation:

• City General Members hired before July 1, 2009 must retire or enter DROP on or after July 2, 2026.

• City General Members hired on or after July 1, 2009 must retire on or after July 2, 2028.

To generate a benefit estimate through your Member Portal account that takes into account your future increased salary as discussed in this article, you must first choose a retirement date on or after the date stated above (whichever applies to you based on your hire date), and then override your final compensation on the right side of the calculator accordingly. The easiest way to do that prior to the first increase on July 1, 2023 is to simply increase the “Final Average Salary” that automatically populates on the left side of the calculator by 22.8% and then input that higher number on the right side.
 
Please see our Benefit Estimate Calculator Fact Sheet for guidance regarding generating estimates and contact our Call Center if you need additional help. Our Call Center can be reached at (619) 525-3600 on regular business days from 9:00 a.m. to noon, and 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

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Board Vice President Lisa Marie Harris to Continue Leadership in Second Term
May 12, 2023

At today's meeting, SDCERS’ Board of Administration unanimously approved Board President Paul Kaufmann's recommendation for Lisa Marie Harris to continue her position as Board Vice President for her second consecutive term. 



Congratulations to our Board Vice President! You can see all of the SDCERS Board Members’ biographies, including Lisa Marie's, on this page.

Feature Story

Board President Paul Kaufmann to Continue Leadership in Second Term
March 10, 2023

SDCERS’ Board of Administration unanimously voted for Paul Kaufmann to continue his position as Board President for his second consecutive one-year term. Paul’s second term will begin with the May 2023 meeting, at which time he will present his choice for Vice President.



Congratulations to our re-elected Board President! You can see all of the SDCERS Board Members’ biographies, including Paul’s, on this page.

Feature Story

2022 1099-R Forms
January 18, 2023

All IRS Form 1099-R’s for tax year 2022 were mailed on January 11th. This means all SDCERS retirees and beneficiaries who received a payment from SDCERS in calendar year 2022 should be receiving their 2022 1099-R forms via U.S. mail over the next couple of weeks. To access your 1099-R form sooner, please log in to your Member Portal account, click on “Tax Reporting” on the left, and select “2022 1099R” to download an electronic copy. You can also update your tax withholding preferences on your Member Portal by clicking on “Tax Withholding.” This guide explains how to update your tax withholding preferences.
 
For a detailed explanation of the pertinent information in your 1099-R, as well as answers to frequently asked questions regarding this tax form, please review our 1099-R Fact Sheet. If you have additional questions, please contact the Call Center at (619) 525-3600 or submit your questions electronically via our Contact Us web form.

 

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Meet SDCERS' New Chief Information Officer
January 17, 2023

SDCERS’ IT Department is starting off the New Year with new leadership – please join us in welcoming Michelle Wegner-Maleki as our new Chief Information Officer! Michelle has actually served SDCERS since 2007, first as the IT Application Services Manager and now as Chief Information Officer (“CIO”).



As the CIO, she is responsible for managing all aspects of the SDCERS’ information technology functions, including network services, business application, communication services, business resumption, and project management services. Prior to joining SDCERS, Michelle worked for the City of San Diego since 1997, supporting the application environment across multiple City departments. Michelle is a native to San Diego and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics at San Diego State University. She also holds a certificate of Project Management Professional (PMP) from the Project Management Institute.

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Upcoming Elections for Active Safety Police and Retiree Board Member Seats
December 28, 2022

SDCERS’ Board of Administration consists of 5 elected members, each of whom serve a four-year term before elections are held once again. The four-year terms for SDCERS’ active safety police Board Member, Lou Maggi, and retiree Board Member, Charlie Hogquist, are ending March 31, 2023. Therefore, SDCERS has begun the elections to fill these seats.
 
Nominations are open for these elections and all nominations and petition signatures must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. (PST) on January 17, 2023. All active City Safety Police Members and City retirees are eligible to run for the appropriate seat and have been mailed a letter, which contains a unique validation number and instructions explaining how to self-nominate and/or sign a nominee’s petition. Please retain this letter, as you will need your unique validation number in order to submit a nomination or sign an existing nominee's petition.  If you are an active City Safety Police Member or City retiree interested in serving on SDCERS’ Board, please be sure to self-nominate by the deadline; all other members in these two categories, please be sure to sign the nomination petition(s) of any candidate(s) you support!
 
If you are in either of these membership categories and have not received your nominations letter by January 2, 2023; if you lost your letter; or if you have any questions about the nomination process, please email SDCERShelp@electionservicescorp.com or call 1-866-720-4357, Monday – Friday, 6:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. PST. 

All nominations and signatures must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. PST on January 17, 2023. At that time, if there is only one nominee for each category with at least 10 petition signatures (the minimum requirement to move forward), an election will not be necessary. If there are competing nominations, then we will proceed with the election(s) and all members who are eligible to vote will receive a letter with further instructions. 
 

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SDCERS' IT Department Receives 2022 MISAC Quality IT Practices Award
December 16, 2022

SDCERS is proud to announce it has received the Municipal Information System Association of California (MISAC) Quality Information Technology Practices Award for the fifth year in a row. MISAC is a collaborative organization of California local government IT professionals with the goal of promoting leadership, information sharing, and access to resources to enhance local government services and effectiveness. Membership includes cities, towns, public safety, special districts, and other local governmental agencies/districts. 



MISAC's Quality IT Practices program is meant to document and acknowledgement MISAC agencies that are following IT best practices. Applicants are required to submit a detailed questionnaire and supporting material. Agency’s strengths are benchmarked to System Administration, Audit, Network, and Security (SANS) Institute standards. The SANS Institute is a cooperative research and education organization of security practitioners from varied worldwide organizations, corporations, and universities working together to help the global information security community.
 
Receiving MISAC Quality IT Practices Award is an honor and tribute to the dedication and performance of SDCERS’ IT staff and contractors.

Feature Story

New Member Portal Design Upgrade
December 10, 2022

IMPORTANT: If you continue to experience the "Site Offline for Maintenance" page when attempting to access the Member Portal, please clear your browser's cache and try again. 

If you log in to your SDCERS Member Portal account, you may notice it looks a little different – don’t worry, you’re not being tricked or phished! SDCERS’ IT and Member Services staff have been working diligently over the last few months to perform an upgrade of SDCERS’ internal systems and the Member Portal. Part of this upgrade included a slightly different look for the Portal:



However, all of the same functions are available. Active members can still monitor their contribution account, run different retirement scenarios with the benefit estimate calculator, add and remove beneficiaries, apply for retirement, and more. Retirees can still access 1099’s and pay statements, as well as make updates to their tax withholding preferences, beneficiary designations, direct deposit, and contact information.
 
If you are perusing your account and come across any issues or have any questions about what you see, please don’t hesitate to send us a message about it via our Contact Us page, or call us at (619) 525-3600 on regular business days from 9:00 a.m. – noon and 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. (PST).

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SDCERS Receives the 2022 Public Pension Standards Award for Funding and Administration
November 29, 2022

For the fifth year in a row, SDCERS has been awarded the Public Pension Standards Award for Funding and Administration. The Public Pension Coordinating Council grants this award, which recognizes SDCERS for meeting professional standards for plan funding and administration as set forth in the Public Pension Standards.​



Recognition Award for Administration
SDCERS received the Recognition Award for Administration due to its adherence to the five essential administrative categories:

• Comprehensive Benefit Program. The system must provide a comprehensive benefit program including service retirement benefits, in-service death benefits, disability benefits, vesting, and provisions for granting a cost-of-living adjustment.

• Actuarial. An Actuarial Valuation must be completed at least every two years using generally recognized and accepted actuarial principles and practices.

• Audit. The system must obtain an unqualified opinion from an independent audit conducted in accordance with government auditing standards generally accepted in the United States.

• Investments. The system must follow written investment policies and written fiduciary standards and the system must obtain an annual investment performance evaluation from an outside investment review entity.

• Communications. Members must be provided a handbook or summary plan description, regular updates to the documents, and an annual benefit statement. Meetings of the governing board of the system are conducted at least quarterly with adequate public notice.

 
Recognition Award for Funding
SDCERS received the Recognition Award for Funding because its three plan sponsors (City of San Diego, Port of San Diego, and San Diego County Regional Airport Authority) consistently pay their Annual Required Contributions as determined by the SDCERS Board. 

The Public Pension Coordinating Council (PPCC) is a coalition of three national associations that represent public retirement systems and administrators: National Association of State Retirement Administrators (NASRA), the National Council on Teacher Retirement (NCTR) and the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems (NCPERS). Together, these associations represent more than 500 of the largest pension plans in the United States serving most of the nation’s 18+ million employees of state and local governments.

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DROP Interest Rates for Calendar Year 2023
November 04, 2022

At today’s meeting, SDCERS’ Board of Administration voted to approve staff’s recommended DROP account and DROP annuity interest rates for the next calendar year – meaning these rates will be effective January 1, 2023. The DROP account rate is the interest rate used by SDCERS while a Member is in DROP and the DROP Annuity rate is the interest rate used by SDCERS to annuitize the DROP monies of a Member who has exited DROP and retired. These rates are calculated annually using publicly available indexes as of September 30th of each year. (See Board Rule 6.10(c) and 6.40(b), and the SDCERS CEO’s memorandum presented at the January 2022 Board meeting for more information about how these rates are calculated.)
 
Therefore, effective January 1, 2023, the annual DROP account interest rate (compounded quarterly) will increase significantly to 2.5%, compared to the current rate of 0.8%. This interest rate will be compounded quarterly and applied to all active DROP participants’ accounts as long as the participant is actively employed by the City of San Diego, San Diego Unified Port District, or the San Diego Regional Airport Authority on the last day of each quarter. This rate is subject to change annually, which means a DROP participant’s account may receive a different interest rate every year during their participation period.
 
The DROP annuity interest rate will increase to 2.9%, compared to the current rate of 2.1%. This interest rate will be applied to the funds remaining in a DROP retiree’s account when they exit DROP, if the retiree chooses to annuitize all or part of their DROP account, and it will be factored into the calculation of their monthly DROP annuity. Please note that the retiree’s DROP exit date must be during calendar year 2023 in order for the 2.9% annuity factor to apply.
 
Unlike the DROP account interest rate, the DROP annuity rate will not change for an individual member – the rate that is in effect when a member exits DROP is the rate that will be applied to their annuity, regardless of whether or not the DROP annuity rate changes in future years. Therefore, when you are getting close to your DROP retirement date, your decision to exit DROP before or after the New Year may be affected by the Board’s decision to increase or decrease the DROP annuity interest rate. However, if you do not plan to annuitize your DROP account upon exiting DROP, then the DROP annuity rate changes will not affect you. Click here to review your options regarding how you can receive the funds in your DROP account when you exit DROP.
 
Please attend a DROP Entry webinar if you are planning to enter DROP soon! The November DROP entry webinar is currently full; however, there will be another in December that has not yet been scheduled. If you are within 3 months of your DROP entry date and are unable to register for either the November or December webinars, please contact SDCERS and let us know.
 
Please attend a DROP Exit webinar if you are nearing your target DROP exit date! The next DROP exit webinar will be November 17th from noon – 1:30 p.m., and you can register using the following link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7587965465274533643.  (Note: These webinars tend to fill up fast – there will be another DROP exit webinar in December, but it has not yet been scheduled. If you are within 3 months of your DROP exit and are unable to register for either the November or December webinars, please contact SDCERS and let us know.)
 
If you are considering entering or exiting DROP soon, you must begin the process by first going to your Member Portal account and clicking on either “Online Applications” or “DROP Retirement Application” (whichever is applicable to you) from the left menu, under Tools. Review this information, make your selections, and submit the initial application online. Once received, you will be contacted by an SDCERS staff member to schedule your personal counseling appointment. At your appointment, you can ask questions and make any changes you’d like to your application. Your electronic application is not final and you have not officially scheduled your DROP entry or exit date until you’ve submitted your signed application signature page, which will be given to you by your retirement counselor during or after your appointment.
 

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Calendar Year 2023 City Retiree Health Open Enrollment
October 31, 2022

This year, health open enrollment for City of San Diego retirees will run from November 1st through November 30th. The calendar year 2023 City retiree health booklets have been mailed out to all eligible City retirees and beneficiaries, and should hit mailboxes this week. In the meantime, you can download an electronic version of the booklet here. You can also download and complete enrollment forms by visiting the City Retiree Health page. After you’ve completed an enrollment (or disenrollment) form, you must send it to SDCERS by November 30th – we prefer you scan your forms and email them as a PDF attachment to health@sdcers.org, but you may also fax them to (858) 581-5314, or mail them to our offices at:
 
SDCERS – Health Division
401 West A Street, Suite 400
San Diego, CA 92101
 
As always, if you do not wish to make any changes to your current healthcare coverage, you do not need to take any action during open enrollment and your coverage will remain the same. There are no new plans this year and no significant changes to existing plans in terms of coverage.
 
SDCERS will not be holding in-person open enrollment events. Instead, SDCERS will participate in a virtual health fair hosted by SDPEBA (San Diego Public Employee Benefit Association), which will be held on November 2nd from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (PST). You can register for SDPEBA’s virtual health fair at https://go.sdpeba.org/retireeOE/.
 
We anticipate that the plan providers will once again record the presentations they would have given at SDCERS’ live open enrollment events. For the providers that choose to do so, you will be able to access their videos on our website – this article and SDCERS’ Facebook page will be updated with more information once we receive the video presentations.
 
If you are comparing different plans and trying to decide which is best for you, don’t forget about CareCounsel! CareCounsel Member Care Specialists are available for your healthcare inquiries and concerns. You can call them at (888) 227-3334 or e-mail staff@carecounsel.com Monday – Friday, 6:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. PST. CareCounsel also provides helpful videos on their website that may answer your questions about Medicare, here: https://carecounsel.com/medicare.html.
 
SDCERS’ Call Center is open Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to noon, and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., at (619) 525-3600 and (800) 774-4977. Please be patient with our hard-working staff; we are working with limited resources and call wait times may be longer than usual due to an expected increase in health-related calls.

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SDCERS' Final Investment Return for FY 2022
September 22, 2022

At its September Board meeting, SDCERS reported a net return of -1.7% for Fiscal Year 2022. As of June 30, 2022, the trust fund’s assets totaled just over $10.0 billion – a net year over year decrease of approximately $328 million. SDCERS’ annualized rate of return over the past 10 years is 8.5%, and its return since inception is 8.8%.
 
Although SDCERS’ net return for Fiscal Year 2022 was negative, it significantly outperformed its benchmark, which posted a -5.7% return for the year. The benchmark is a measure of how the total fund would have performed if it had been completely invested in index funds. SDCERS surpassed its benchmark due to the performance of its active managers. In particular, SDCERS’ managed futures allocation had a strong performance over the past year. The managed futures allocation, which seeks to benefit from either upwards or downwards trends in stocks, bonds, commodities, and currencies, was added to the fund in 2019 to add diversification to the plan and act as a buffer in periods of market stress.
 
Performance can also be measured in comparison to other public pension plans, although it is important to remember that different plans have a variety of sizes, circumstances, and funding statuses, all of which impact their asset allocations and, in turn, their return targets. This past fiscal year, SDCERS’ total fund net return was in the top 4% compared to other similarly-sized plans. Over longer time periods, SDCERS stacks up very well against its peers – posting top quartile returns over rolling 3-, 5-, 10- and 20-year periods ending June 30, 2022.

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SDCERS Welcomes Carina Coleman as Its New Chief Investment Officer
August 10, 2022

After 15 years with the SDCERS investment team and a career in investing, SDCERS’ longtime Chief Investment Officer Liza Crisafi celebrated a well-earned retirement at the end of July. Liza announced her retirement well in advance, allowing SDCERS to conduct an extensive national search. We are pleased to announce that Carina Coleman will be SDCERS’ new Chief Investment Officer!
 
As a former SDCERS Board Member (and Board President), Carina is a familiar face around SDCERS. “Carina brings technical expertise, strong business acumen, practical CIO experience, detailed knowledge of SDCERS’ investment program policies, good relationships with key SDCERS business partners, and, importantly, a leadership and soft skill set which is in close alignment with SDCERS’ core values,” said Gregg Rademacher, SDCERS CEO. We expect Carina will be joining the team on August 18th. In the interim, Senior Investment Officer Jamie Hamrick is serving as Interim CIO. Jamie, along with our entire investment team, will ensure a smooth transition.
 
Carina takes charge of SDCERS’ investment portfolio, which was valued at approximately $10.9 billion as of the end of the first quarter of 2022. SDCERS has a well-diversified portfolio that has achieved risk-adjusted returns in the top decile compared to similarly-sized public pension plans over the past 3, 5, and 10 years. Carina shared, “I am very excited about the opportunity to serve as CIO for SDCERS. I have enjoyed working with SDCERS as a Trustee and I look forward to leading the investment team of this well-respected organization.”


Carina Coleman, SDCERS' New Chief Investment Officer
 
Carina most recently served as the Director, Pension and Trust Investments, at Sempra. She earned her MBA in Finance from the Wharton School of Business and is a CFA and CAIA Charterholder. She also holds an MA in International Studies from the University of Pennsylvania and a BA in Economics/International Area Studies and German Studies from UCLA. Carina has experience managing the investments of multi-billion-dollar retirement plans of varying risk profiles across multiple asset classes. She further has expertise in formulating investment policy, constructing portfolios to meet return and risk objectives, conducting investment manager due diligence, and analyzing risk and performance.
 
Professional recruiting firm EFL & Associates assisted in the search to fill the CIO position.
 

Feature Story

Fiscal Year 2023 Health Allowances for Eligible City Retirees
May 27, 2022

This article is only applicable to City retirees who have a health reimbursement plan through the City.
 
The City of San Diego and the San Diego Public Employee Benefits Association (SDPEBA) are changing the effective date of their retiree healthcare plan offerings. Starting January 1, 2023, the sponsored retiree healthcare plans will be effective based on the calendar year, rather than the fiscal year. However, the annual allowances for retiree healthcare will continue to be offered on the fiscal year, resetting each July 1st.
 
Below are the fiscal year 2023 retiree healthcare allowances (effective July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023).



Remember, if you would like to change plans before this year’s Open Enrollment in November, you may do so from June 1, 2022 through June 30, 2022. You will be able to choose from the current plan offerings. You can review information about the current plans and download enrollment/disenrollment forms on this page. All forms must be received by 5:00 p.m. (PST) on Thursday, June 30, 2022. All changes timely submitted will be effective August 1, 2022. You may submit your forms via email (attached as a PDF) to health@sdcers.org, by mail to SDCERS Health Division, 401 West A Street, Suite 400, San Diego, CA 92101 or by fax to (858) 581-5314.
 
If you do not want to make any changes to your current healthcare, dental, or vision plan, you do not have to take any action during Open Enrollment and your coverage will remain the same.
 
For plans beginning in January 2023, you will receive the full Open Enrollment booklet in November 2022 with information on plans and premiums. If you do not want to make any changes to your current healthcare, dental, or vision plan for 2023, you do not need to take any action in November 2022 and your coverage will remain the same for 2023.
 
If you have any questions, you can contact the Call Center at (619) 525-3600, open on regular business days from 9:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. PST. However, as this is a significant change to retiree health, we anticipate a higher than usual call volume over the next several months. If your question is not urgent, we recommend submitting your request electronically via the Contact Us page; SDCERS staff generally will respond to electronic inquiries within one business day. Please note that at this time, SDCERS’ physical downtown offices are still closed to members and the public.
 

Feature Story

SDCERS' Board Elects Paul Kaufmann Board President
May 13, 2022

After many years of service, longtime Board Member and previous Board President Carina Coleman is leaving SDCERS' Board of Administration. On behalf of all SDCERS staff, we sincerely thank you for volunteering your time to serve on our Board. 

At today's Board meeting, Paul Kaufmann (formerly Board Vice President) was unanimously elected to assume the position of Board President. Mr. Kaufmann also currently serves on SDCERS' Business & Governance Committee and previously served on SDCERS' Audit Committee for many years. He is also a Community Advisory Board Member at Sanford Burnham Prebys, a non-profit medical research institution that is dedicated to finding cures for human diseases. In his free time, Mr. Kaufmann works as an Adjunct Professor at Brandman University’s Business School in Irvine, CA. 



SDCERS' Board and staff looks forward to continue working with Paul Kaufmann as we all strive to fulfill SDCERS' mission of delivering benefits timely and accurately, and ensuring the trust fund's safety, integrity, and growth.

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City Retiree Healthcare Plans Switching to Calendar Year Schedule - Open Enrollment to Be Held in November 2022
April 15, 2022

Note: This is only applicable to City retirees who are enrolled in, or plan to enroll in, a City retiree health insurance plan.
 
SDCERS recently mailed a letter to all City retirees explaining the upcoming changes to City retiree healthcare. Historically, the City’s retiree health insurance plans have been implemented according to the fiscal year, with open enrollment traditionally held in June and plan changes effective the following August. However, beginning January 1, 2023, the City’s retiree health insurance plans will be effective based on the calendar year instead.
 
This means the City’s retiree health plans will begin each January 1st, instead of August 1st. If you are currently participating in a City retiree health plan, or if you intend to enroll in a City retiree health plan in the future, the following applies to you:

• In order to smooth the transition, the City’s sponsored retiree healthcare plans and premiums will remain unchanged through December 31, 2022.

• The annual Open Enrollment period will now take place in November, rather than June – at this time, we expect this year’s Open Enrollment will begin on November 1, 2022 and end November 30, 2022; however, you will be notified via mail when the dates have been confirmed.

• The Comprehensive Retiree Health Book for plan year 2023 will be mailed to you around November 1, 2022.

• If you are satisfied with your current plan, you do NOT need to do anything right now – you will receive further instructions and information about available health plans and premiums for plan year 2023 prior to Open Enrollment in November.

• If you would like to change plans before this year’s Open Enrollment in November, you may do so in June 2022 – you will be able to choose from the current plan offerings shown in the 2021-2022 Comprehensive Retiree Health Book. Additional information about available plans can be found here, plan provider videos can be viewed here, and enrollment forms can be downloaded and printed at the bottom of this page.

• You can send health enrollment or disenrollment forms to SDCERS by mail, fax, or email – please review the directions for sending health-related documents on this page.

• Please be advised that if you change plans in June 2022, the effective date of your new plan will be August 1, 2022 – December 31, 2022. You may still participate in the November 2022 Open Enrollment.

 IMPORTANT: The annual healthcare allowances will continue to be effective according to the fiscal year (July 1st – June 30th). Keep in mind that your healthcare premium may change in December, but your allowance will remain the same until the following July. You will receive another letter in the next month or so regarding your fiscal year 2023 healthcare allowance, if applicable to you.
 
If you have any questions, you can contact the Call Center at (619) 525-3600, open on regular business days from 9:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. PST. However, as this is a significant change to retiree health, we anticipate a higher than usual call volume over the next several months. If your question is not urgent, we recommend submitting your request electronically via the Contact Us page; SDCERS staff will generally respond to electronic inquiries within one business day. Please note that at this time, SDCERS’ physical downtown offices are still closed to members and the public.

Feature Story

SDCERS Board Member Lisa Marie Harris Honored as San Diego's "CFO of the Year"
March 25, 2022

Each year, the San Diego Business Journal honors the financial executives who work behind the scenes — the Chief Financial Officers (“CFO’s). Now in its 17th year, the “CFO of the Year Award” recognizes contributions to company growth, leadership, and community involvement by top financial executives in the San Diego area.



This year, a panel of independent judges drawn from the region’s top financial leaders selected SDCERS’ Board Member Lisa Marie Harris as their top public sector CFO! This is a well-deserved recognition for Lisa Marie Harris and only further demonstrates how lucky we are to have her on our Board of Administration and Investment Committee. You can read more about her, as well as our other Board Members, on this page.



Congratulations Lisa Marie!
 

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Active Member Beneficiaries & the Importance of Keeping Your Beneficiaries Updated
February 24, 2022

When was the last time you thought about your SDCERS beneficiary designations? Over a year ago? Five years? The day you enrolled in SDCERS? Maybe never? Beneficiary designations may seem like a chore you can put off or do once and forget about, but the truth is you should review your beneficiary designations at least once a year to make sure they reflect your current circumstances. For example, beneficiary designations probably aren’t the first thing on your mind when you get married or divorced, have a child, or lose a loved one, but these are all defining life events that may affect who you want to receive your pension benefits when you die.

Active Members (meaning those who are actively employed by the City, Port,* or Airport and contributing to SDCERS, but are not in DROP) are eligible to leave one of three types of death benefits if they die before retiring or entering DROP, and the eligibility requirements are very specific for two of the three types. Importantly, if you die without having designated your surviving spouse as your sole primary beneficiary, then your surviving spouse will not be eligible to receive the lifetime Death While Eligible or Industrial Death Benefit, even if all other eligibility requirements are satisfied. Below is a summary of the death benefits provided to Active Members, but please review the Death Benefits Fact Sheet for more in-depth information.
 
*General Port employees hired or rehired on or after January 1, 2009 must complete five consecutive years of Port employment after each hire or rehire date before they become Members of SDCERS and are eligible to leave a death benefit.

Active Death Benefit – Paid upon the death of a Member who is not yet eligible to retire and whose death is not related to work (or in the event all pre-requisites for the Death While Eligible or Industrial Death Benefit are not satisfied).

Death While Eligible Benefit – Paid upon the death of a Member who is already eligible to retire when they die and whose death is not related to work.

Industrial Death Benefit – Paid upon the death of a Member whose death is due to work-related causes, as determined by the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board.

(Please review the full article and/or the Death Benefits Fact Sheet for more information about these death benefits.)

As you can imagine, it may take a while to sort out who gets what if you die without updating your beneficiary designations. Luckily, designating a beneficiary is quick, easy, and you can do it from home by logging in to your SDCERS Member Portal account and clicking “Beneficiary Information” from the left menu.

You will be able to name beneficiaries to receive different types of death benefits depending on if you are active, in DROP, or retired. You can designate both a primary and an alternate beneficiary. When you die, your primary beneficiary is first in line to collect the death benefit, while your alternate receives the benefit only if the primary is already deceased. For most death benefits, you can name multiple beneficiaries and designate a specific percentage of the benefit to each person. If you choose to do this, make sure your percentages add up to 100%. Lastly, you may also designate a trust to receive any death benefit that is not a continuance or an annuity. However, you will be required to provide SDCERS with a copy of the trust or certificate of trust.  

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2021 1099-R Forms
January 13, 2022

All IRS Form 1099-R’s for tax year 2021 have been mailed. This means all SDCERS retirees and beneficiaries who received a payment from SDCERS in calendar year 2021 should be receiving their 2021 1099-R forms via U.S. mail over the next couple of weeks. To access your 1099-R form sooner, please log in to your Member Portal account, click on “Tax Reporting” on the left, and select “2021 1099R” to download an electronic copy. You can also update your tax withholding preferences on your Member Portal by clicking on “Tax Withholding.” This guide explains how to update your tax withholding preferences.
 
For a detailed explanation of the pertinent information in your 1099-R, as well as answers to frequently asked questions regarding this tax form, please review our 1099-R Fact Sheet. If you have additional questions, please contact the Call Center at (619) 525-3600 or submit your questions electronically via our Contact Us web form.

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SDCERS Offices Remain Closed
January 07, 2022

Please be advised that due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, our downtown offices remain closed to all but essential staff members required to be in the office in order to perform daily tasks. The majority of SDCERS’ staff continues to work remotely and, unfortunately, our members are still not permitted on site. However, our Call Center continues to be open Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to noon, and 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. To help decrease call volume, please submit non-urgent questions or concerns via our Contact Us page, which we continue to monitor and generally respond to within one business day.
 
We will continue to conduct retirement counseling appointments telephonically, which we have been doing since March of 2020. The phone counseling sessions have been well-received, and document signing takes place via email exchange. If you already have a retirement counseling appointment scheduled, you will be contacted in advance with details. If you have recently submitted your online application, you will be contacted soon to schedule your appointment.
 
If you are thinking about retiring or entering DROP soon, please review the fact sheets, FAQs, and videos on our website, which will help answer many of your questions in advance. Keep an eye out for retirement educational webinars, which are announced periodically via your work email. You can also estimate your future retirement benefit by using the Benefit Calculator on the Member Portal. If you have not already registered on our secure Member Portal, click on “Register” on the Member Portal page and follow the registration instructions.
 
Once you have reviewed all of the pertinent information, if you want to schedule a retirement counseling appointment (including for service retirements, DROP entries, and DROP exits), you must submit an online retirement application through your Member Portal account by clicking “Online Applications” on the left panel. Keep in mind this electronic application is not final – your submission simply prompts us to contact you to schedule a counseling appointment.
 
CITY RETIREE HEALTH REIMBURSEMENTS: City Retiree Health Reimbursement requests are being processed as usual. For fastest processing, submit your documents via email (attached as a PDF) to health@sdcers.org. Please ensure you have submitted complete documents – we will contact you if we receive incomplete submissions, which may result in delayed reimbursements. Alternatively, you may fax your documents to (858) 581-5314, or mail them to our office at 401 West A Street, Ste. 400, San Diego, CA 92101.
 

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SDCERS' IT Department Receives 2021 MISAC Quality IT Practices Award
December 17, 2021

SDCERS is proud to announce it has received the Municipal Information System Association of California (MISAC) Quality Information Technology Practices Award for the fourth year in a row. MISAC is a collaborative organization of California local government IT professionals with the goal of promoting leadership, information sharing, and access to resources to enhance local government services and effectiveness. Membership includes cities, towns, public safety, special districts, and other local governmental agencies/districts. 



MISAC's Quality IT Practices program is meant to document and acknowledgement MISAC agencies that are following IT best practices. Applicants are required to submit a detailed questionnaire and supporting material. Agency’s strengths are benchmarked to System Administration, Audit, Network, and Security (SANS) Institute standards. The SANS Institute is a cooperative research and education organization of security practitioners from varied worldwide organizations, corporations, and universities working together to help the global information security community.
 
Receiving MISAC Quality IT Practices Award is an honor and tribute to the dedication and performance of SDCERS’ IT staff and contractors.

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Voting is Now Open for Active General Board Member Election
December 02, 2021

The election for SDCERS' open active General Board Member seat has begun. All active General Members (City, Port, and Airport) are eligible to vote for one of two candidates who will represent them on SDCERS' Board through May 2025.
 
If you are an active General Member, a letter was mailed to you on November 30th. This letter explains the voting process, lists information about the two candidates, and contains a unique validation number. Please retain this letter, as you will need your unique validation number in order to cast your vote. You should expect to receive this letter within the next few days – if you have not received a letter by December 7th, or if you received the letter but no longer have access to it, please contact the elections help line at 1-866-720-4357, Monday – Friday, between 6:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. PST. You can also email SDCERShelp@electionservicescorp.com.

The candidates for the two General Board Member seats are:
1) Thomas Battaglia; and
2) Dawne Clark

Votes may be cast by phone or online – specific information about the voting process is contained in your letter. All votes must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. PST on December 16, 2021.

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SDCERS' 2021 (Virtual) Annual Membership Meeting
November 15, 2021

Just like last year, SDCERS’ 2021 Annual Membership Meeting took place virtually as a recorded Zoom meeting. This was not a live event; instead, you can watch the presentations at your leisure via our YouTube channel by clicking here. The theme of the meeting was "Today, Tomorrow, Together.”

Here is a sneak preview of this year's presentations:

• Liza Crisafi, Chief Investment Officer, provided a summary of SDCERS' investment performance in fiscal year 2021.

• Marcelle Voorhies Rossman, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, explained how SDCERS plans for the future, and the differences between retirees in the past compared to retirees in the now.

• Gregg Rademacher, Chief Executive Officer, talked about how SDCERS adapted during the COVID-19 pandemic, and reassured SDCERS’ membership that its pension system will is planning for tomorrow, today, in order to make sure benefits are paid accurately and timely, and ensure the trust fund’s safety, integrity, and growth.

• Cynthia Queen, Member Services Director, went over all of the resources available on SDCERS’ website, gave a brief overview of the Member Portal for both active and retired members, and encouraged all members to register for their own Member Portal account if they haven’t already.

We encourage you to take the time to watch the meeting and let us know what you think via our Contact Us page. This is an annual event that is usually held in person, giving us an opportunity to engage with our membership. We hope you enjoy the presentations!
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DROP Interest Rates for Calendar Year 2022
November 05, 2021

At today’s meeting, SDCERS’ Board of Administration voted to approve staff’s recommended DROP account and DROP annuity interest rates for the next calendar year – meaning these rates will be effective January 1, 2022. The DROP account rate is the interest rate used by SDCERS while a Member is in DROP and the DROP Annuity rate is the interest rate used by SDCERS to annuitize the DROP monies of a Member who has exited DROP and retired. These rates are calculated annually using publicly available indexes as of September 30th of each year. (See Board Rule 6.10(c) and 6.40(b) for more information about how these rates are calculated.)
 
Therefore, effective January 1, 2022, the annual DROP account interest rate (compounded quarterly) will be decreased slightly to 0.8%, compared to the current rate of 1.0%. This interest rate will be compounded quarterly and applied to all active DROP participants’ accounts as long as the participant is actively employed by the City of San Diego, San Diego Unified Port District, or the San Diego Regional Airport Authority on the last day of each quarter. This rate is subject to change annually, which means a DROP participant’s account may receive a different interest rate every year during their participation period.
 
The DROP annuity interest rate will stay the same at 2.1%. This interest rate will be applied to the funds remaining in a DROP retiree’s account when they exit DROP, if the retiree chooses to annuitize all or part of their DROP account, and it will be factored into the calculation of their monthly DROP annuity.
 
Unlike the DROP account interest rate, the DROP annuity rate will not change for an individual member – the rate that is in effect when a member exits DROP is the rate that will be applied to their annuity, regardless of whether or not the DROP annuity rate changes in future years. Therefore, when you are getting close to your DROP retirement date, your decision to exit DROP before or after the New Year may be affected by the Board’s decision to increase or decrease the DROP annuity interest rate. However, if you do not plan to annuitize your DROP account upon exiting DROP, then the DROP annuity rate changes will not affect you. Click here to review your options regarding how you can receive the funds in your DROP account when you exit DROP.
 
Please attend a DROP Exit webinar if you are nearing your target DROP exit date:
 
November 16th at 1:30 p.m.: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1042833321240571663
 
November 19th at 1:30 p.m.: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1325148324834998287
 
December 15th at 11:00 a.m.: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5940220839076014095
 
If you are currently in DROP and considering retiring soon, you must begin the process by first going to your Member Portal account and clicking on “DROP Retirement Application” from the left menu, under Tools. Review this information, make your selections, and submit the initial application online. Once received, you will be contacted by an SDCERS staff member to schedule your personal phone counseling appointment. At your appointment, you can ask questions and make any changes you’d like to your application. Your electronic application is not final and you have not retired until you’ve submitted your signed application signature page, which will be emailed to you by your retirement counselor during or after your appointment.

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Information for City of San Diego Members Who Are Considering Terminating Employment (Due to Vaccine Mandates or Otherwise)
October 27, 2021

If you are considering ending your employment with the City, due to the pending vaccine mandates or for any other reason, please review our Termination & Deferred Membership fact sheet as well as your plan tier’s Retirement Plan Summary, according to your plan sponsor, membership classification, and initial hire date.
 
Whether you are terminated for cause or voluntarily end your employment, the circumstances surrounding your departure do not affect your eligibility to receive any SDCERS pension benefits to which you are entitled. As long as you accrue enough service credit (including purchased and reciprocal service credit) to meet your plan tier’s minimum eligibility requirements, you can begin receiving your monthly pension benefit as soon as you become age-eligible. Again, please refer to your Retirement Plan Summary for information about eligibility requirements, as they differ according to plan sponsor and plan tier. You can also log in to your Member Portal account to see if you are currently service-eligible and also to use the benefit estimate calculator, which you can use to run different retirement scenarios and see an estimate of what your monthly pension benefit might be according to each scenario.
 
If you are (or will be) service and age-eligible to retire when you separate employment, and you are not currently participating in DROP, please submit your electronic service retirement application via your Member Portal account ASAP. You must have a counseling appointment and submit your completed, signed retirement application (not the electronic version – the final application you will discuss with your counselor at your appointment) prior to your retirement date. Ideally, your retirement date should be the day after your termination date. However, if your final application is dated and submitted later, the delayed submission will result in missed days of pension payments.
 
If you are currently participating in DROP, your retirement date will automatically be the day after your termination date – this is true regardless of if you quit your job or if you are fired. You do need to submit an electronic DROP retirement application and meet with a counselor as soon as possible after termination, but this does not necessarily need to happen prior to your termination date. In this case, a DROP retirement application submitted after your termination date will not result in missed days of pension payments, but it could delay your payments altogether until we have received the requisite paperwork from you.
 
If you are service-eligible, but not age-eligible to retire upon termination, you do not need an appointment just yet – you will become a “deferred vested” member once you separate employment. No matter where you are in the world, you will be eligible to retire and begin receiving your monthly pension benefit when you become age-eligible. Please log in to your Member Portal account a few months before you become age-eligible and submit your service retirement application. Submitting the electronic application will trigger a staff member to contact you and schedule your retirement counseling appointment.
 
If you are not service-eligible to retire when you terminate employment and you have no intention of establishing reciprocity elsewhere, you should consider your options regarding your member contributions on deposit with SDCERS. You can leave the funds with SDCERS, where they will earn annual interest at the current discount rate every July (the current rate at the time this article was written is 6.5%), or you can withdraw or rollover the funds (including interest) to an eligible account. If possible, it would be best to schedule a retirement counseling appointment prior to your termination, where your counselor will explain your options in more detail. However, please note that our counseling schedule is typically very busy in November and December, so be sure to plan in advance and review the relevant information on our website ASAP. To schedule an appointment due to terminating employment, you can contact our Call Center, open on regular business days from 9:00 a.m. to noon, and 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., at (619) 525-3600.

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Upcoming Election for Active General Board Member Seat
October 08, 2021

You may recall SDCERS held elections earlier this year to fill the two active General Member seats on our Board of Administration, and the winners of that election were Bret A. Bartolotta and Sarah Mayen. Unfortunately for SDCERS, Sarah Mayen recently left active City service, which means she can no longer serve on SDCERS’ Board as a representative for active General Members. Therefore, SDCERS is holding another election to fill her vacated seat on the Board. The winner of this election will serve the remainder of her four-year term, ending March 31, 2025.
 
The nominations process for this election has begun. All active City General Members are eligible to run for this seat and have been mailed a letter, which contains a unique validation number and instructions explaining how to self-nominate and/or sign a nominee’s petition. Please retain this letter, as you will need your unique validation number in order to submit a nomination or sign an existing nominee's petition.  If you are an active City General Member interested in serving on SDCERS Board, please be sure to self-nominate by October 29, 2021; all other active City General Members, please be sure to sign the nomination petition(s) of any candidate(s) you support!
 
If you are an active City General Member and have not received your nominations letter by October 14, 2021; if you lost your letter; or if you have any questions about the nomination process, please email SDCERShelp@electionservicescorp.com or call 1-866-720-4357, Monday – Friday, 6:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. PST. 

All nominations and signatures must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. PST on October 29, 2021. At that time, if there is only one nominee with at least 10 petition signatures (the minimum requirement to move forward), an election will not be necessary. If there are competing nominations, then we will proceed with the election and all active General Members will receive a letter with further instructions. 

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SDCERS Receives Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for 13th Consecutive Year
September 15, 2021

The Government Financial Officers Association (“GFOA”) has awarded SDCERS the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for SDCERS’ 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (“CAFR”) and Popular Annual Financial Report (“PAFR”). This is the 13th year in a row SDCERS has received this recognition!



The GFOA is a non-profit professional association serving approximately 15,000 government finance professionals. SDCERS’ CAFR and PAFR were judged by an impartial panel and deemed to have met the high standards of the certificate program, including demonstrating an effective means to disclose and clearly communicate SDCERS’ financial story and to motivate Members and the public to read the CAFR and PAFR.  This award is the highest form of recognition in the area of government accounting and financial reporting. It represents a significant accomplishment by a governmental agency and its management.

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City's Pension Plan Reopened as of July 10, 2021
August 20, 2021

The City of San Diego officially reopened its pension plan to all non-police employees hired by the City on or after July 10, 2021 - almost exactly nine years from Proposition B’s effective date. Such employees will fall into the most recent plan tier according to their member classification – General, Safety Fire, or Safety Lifeguard. Please review your pension plan summary according to hire date here. Police Safety members continue to be enrolled in a defined contribution plan while in the Police Academy and become SDCERS members once they are sworn.
 
However, we still do not know exactly how the trial court’s ruling will be implemented with respect to those non-sworn police officers hired by the City between July 20, 2012 and July 9, 2021, who have been participating in a 401(k)-style plan rather than the pension system. The City and relevant labor unions are in continuing negotiations. Please remember that SDCERS administers the City’s pension system pursuant to the relevant provisions of the City Charter and San Diego Municipal Code – it does not play a part in negotiating the pension benefits it is charged with administering. Please direct any questions regarding Prop B to your respective labor union representative or to the City’s Human Resources Department.

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SDCERS' Board Welcomes Two New Audit Committee Members
August 05, 2021

At its March 2021 meeting, SDCERS’ Board of Administration appointed two new Independent Non-Board Members to its Audit Committee: Mia Harenski and Gary McCormick. (Click here for more background information about these appointments and SDCERS’ Audit Committee Members.)
 
Mia Harenski is a partner at Considine & Considine, CPA. She is originally from the Central Valley and, after attending college in San Diego, she decided to call it her permanent home. Mia serves on several community boards and committees, as well as being an active volunteer for her sons’ schools and various sports-related activities.
 
Gary McCormick has more than 30 years of public accounting experience and currently works as an audit partner at BDO, an accounting firm that provides tax and financial advisory services to clients all around the world. Gary previously served as the partner in charge of the audits of the City of San Diego, the County of San Diego, and the San Diego Port District – so he already has experience and insight related to two of SDCERS’ plan sponsors!
 
On behalf of SDCERS’ Board and staff, we are thrilled to welcome Mia and Gary to our Audit Committee. Their background and expertise in auditing and accounting will only increase SDCERS’ accountability and professionalism, two of our Board’s core values.

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New Member Contribution Rates for FY2022
July 01, 2021

IMPORTANT: These changes only apply to (1) City of San Diego members and (2) Port and Airport members who were hired on or after January 1, 2013.
 
Member contributions are the mandatory pre-tax deductions on a member’s biweekly paycheck that are deposited into the SDCERS Trust Fund, where they earn interest and ultimately fund each member’s individual pension benefit. Contributions are calculated as a percentage of the member’s pensionable salary on each paycheck. The percentage is determined according to the member’s plan tier and age of entry into SDCERS. Contribution rates are adjusted by SDCERS’ Board, as recommended by SDCERS’ actuary, based on requirements in the City of San Diego Charter and the Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013. 
 
At its March 12, 2021 meeting, SDCERS’ Board of Administration approved new member contribution rates, which will go into effect on July 1, 2021 for all City of San Diego members and all Port and Airport members hired on or after January 1, 2013. If you fall into one of these membership categories, you can view your new contribution rates by going to “Retirement Plan Summaries” and clicking on your employer and date range corresponding to your initial hire date. Most members will experience slightly increased contribution rates – this is due to changes in certain actuarial assumptions.
 
According to the most recent annual valuation, mortality assumptions are changing such that people are generally living to an older age. On top of that, future improvements to those mortality assumptions (generational mortality improvements) were considered. For example, a 65-year-old today will have a different mortality estimate than that of a 65-year-old 20 years from now. Both of these new assumptions increase the cost to the system, since the new assumptions indicate that SDCERS will be paying out individual pension benefits over a longer timeframe than original estimates suggested. Therefore, members and their plan sponsors must contribute more while they are working in order to keep the system properly funded, given the added cost due to these new assumptions.

The new contribution rates will be reflected in City of San Diego members’ paychecks for pay period ending July 9, 2021, and Port and Airport members’ paychecks for pay period ending July 1, 2021.
 

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Fiscal Year 2022 City Retiree Health Open Enrollment
May 24, 2021

Health open enrollment for City of San Diego retirees will run from June 1st through June 30th. As of May 24th, the fiscal year 2022 City retiree health booklets were mailed out to all eligible City retirees and beneficiaries. An electronic version of the booklet is available here, and the health plan comparison chart here. You can also download and complete enrollment forms by visiting the City Retiree Health page. After you’ve completed an enrollment (or disenrollment) form, you must send it to SDCERS by June 30th – we prefer you scan your forms and email them as a PDF attachment to health@sdcers.org, but you may also fax them to (858) 581-5314 or mail them to our offices at:
 
SDCERS – Health Division
401 West A Street, Suite 400
San Diego, CA 92101
 
As always, if you do not wish to make any changes to your current healthcare coverage, you do not need to take any action during open enrollment and your coverage will remain the same. There are no new plans this year and no significant changes to existing plans in terms of coverage.
 
Due to the continuing ban on public gatherings, this year’s open enrollment will similar to last year’s: SDCERS will not be holding in-person open enrollment events, such as the annual Open Enrollment Kickoff or Help Day. Instead, SDCERS participated in a virtual health fair hosted by SDPEBA (San Diego Public Employee Benefit Association), which was held on June 2nd. 
 
Additionally, plan providers once again recorded the presentations they would have given at SDCERS’ live open enrollment events. You can access their videos via this page on our website.
 
If you are comparing different plans and trying to decide which is best for you, don’t forget about CareCounsel! CareCounsel Member Care Specialists are available for your healthcare inquiries and concerns. You can call them at (888) 227-3334 or e-mail staff@carecounsel.com Monday – Friday, 6:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. PST. CareCounsel also provides helpful videos on their website that may answer your questions about Medicare, here: https://carecounsel.com/medicare.html.
 
SDCERS’ Call Center is open Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to noon, and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., at (619) 525-3600 and (800) 774-4977. Please be patient with our hard-working staff; we are working with limited resources and call wait times may be longer than usual due to an expected increase in health-related calls.

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City's Proposition B Update
April 14, 2021

As you may know, Proposition B (“Prop B”) was the San Diego ballot initiative that went into effect July 20, 2012 and amended the City Charter to close the City’s pension system to all new hires except for sworn City police officers. This ballot measure has been in litigation since its inception. In January 2021, a San Diego state trial court issued a verbal ruling from the bench, declaring Prop B to be invalid. This verbal ruling was followed by a written statement of decision, and proponents of Prop B had until April 9, 2021 to appeal the trial court’s ruling.
 
No appeal was filed by the deadline, which means the trial court’s invalidation of Prop B is final. However, we still do not know exactly how the trial court’s ruling will be implemented. So, what happens next?

• The City and labor unions will enter into negotiations to decide how the trial court’s decision will be implemented.

• The City will have to take legislative action (i.e., pass a City Ordinance) to remove Prop B from the City Charter and, if applicable, the San Diego Municipal Code.

• Once the above actions are completed, we will have more information about enrolling City Members hired since July 20, 2012 into an SDCERS pension plan and their options moving forward. Until then, Proposition B is still in effect – meaning all new City hires (except sworn police officers) since July 20, 2012 continue to contribute to the City’s SPSP-H plan in lieu of participating in an SDCERS defined benefit pension plan.

• If the invalidation of Prop B affects you, SDCERS anticipates that we will contact you on an individual basis once the above actions have been completed.

  
NOTE: SDCERS administers the City’s pension system pursuant to the relevant provisions of the City Charter and San Diego Municipal Code – it does not play a part in negotiating the pension benefits it is charged with administering. Please direct any questions regarding Prop B to your respective labor union representative or to the City’s Human Resources Department.

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Results of Board Member Elections
March 12, 2021

As of 5:00 p.m. (PST) on February 11th, voting concluded in the elections for SDCERS' two active General Board Member seats and one active Fire Safety Board Member seat. All active General Members (City, Port, and Airport) were eligible to vote in the General Board Member elections, while active City Fire and Lifeguard Members were eligible to vote for one of the Fire Safety Board Member candidates. Thank you to all who participated in these elections!
 
The candidates who received the majority of votes for the General Board Member seats are Bret A. Bartolotta and Sarah Mayen.
 
The candidate who received the majority of votes for the Fire Safety Board Member seat is Paul Lotze.
 
The current Board of Administration certified the election results today, at its March 12, 2021 meeting. Congratulations to our newly elected Board Members and thank you in advance for your service on SDCERS’ Board of Administration! The new Board Members will attend their first SDCERS Board meeting on May 14, 2021.

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Voting is Now CLOSED for Board Member Elections
February 12, 2021

Elections have ended for SDCERS' two active General Board Member seats and one active Fire Safety Board Member seat. 

The candidates for the two General Board Member seats are:
1) Bret A. Bartolotta
2) Thomas Battaglia
3) Sarah Mayen
4) Tammy L. Williams

The candidates for the Fire Safety Board Member seat are:
1) Paul Lotze
2) Tim Robles

The election results will be publicly announced and certifed by SDCERS' Board of Administration during its meeting on March 12, 2021.

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Voting is Now Open for Board Member Elections
January 28, 2021

Elections have begun for SDCERS' two active General Board Member seats and one active Fire Safety Board Member seat. All active General Members (City, Port, and Airport) are eligible to vote for up to two candidates who will represent them on SDCERS' Board for the next four years, starting in May 2021. All active City Fire and Lifeguard Members are eligible to vote for one of the Fire Safety Board Member candidates.
 
If you are in any of the above-mentioned membership classifications, a letter was mailed to you on January 25th. Each letter explains the voting process, lists information about the candidates, and contains a unique validation number. Please retain this letter, as you will need your unique validation number in order to cast your vote. You should expect to receive this letter within the next few days – if you have not received a letter by February 2nd, or if you received the letter but no longer have access to it, please contact the elections help line at 1-866-720-4357, Monday – Friday, between 6:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. PST. You can also email SDCERShelp@electionservicescorp.com.

The candidates for the two General Board Member seats are:
1) Bret A. Bartolotta
2) Thomas Battaglia
3) Sarah Mayen
4) Tammy L. Williams

The candidates for the Fire Safety Board Member seat are:
1) Paul Lotze
2) Tim Robles

Votes may be cast by phone or online – specific information about the voting process is contained in your letter. All votes must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. PST on February 11, 2021.

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Proposition B Declared Invalid By San Diego Trial Court
January 06, 2021

Proposition B was the San Diego ballot initiative that went into effect July 20, 2012 and amended the City Charter to close the City’s pension system to all new hires except for City police officers. This ballot measure has been in litigation since its inception. Please visit our FAQ’s for more information about the history of Proposition B.
 
Recently, opponents of Proposition B gained momentum in their quest to overturn the ballot measure: On January 5, 2021, a San Diego state trial court heard oral arguments in this matter and issued a verbal ruling from the bench, declaring Proposition B to be invalid. Currently, the court is drafting a written statement of its decision, which will direct the City Council to erase Proposition B's language from the City Charter. We do not know exactly how this ruling will be implemented – whether it will retroactively provide pension benefits to all City employees who were affected by Proposition B, if these employees will be compensated some other way and begin earning pension benefits prospectively, or if some other resolution will be negotiated. However, it is worth noting that if the trial court's decision is appealed within 60 days of the court’s written statement of decision, any enforcement of the decision may be stalled until the appeal is resolved.
 
Note: SDCERS is not a party to this litigation. SDCERS administers the City’s pension system pursuant to the relevant provisions of the City Charter and San Diego Municipal Code – it does not play a part in negotiating the pension benefits it is charged with administering.

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Upcoming Board Member Elections (Active City General and Fire Safety)
December 22, 2020

SDCERS' two active General Board Members (Thomas Battaglia and Jeffrey Wallace) and active Fire Safety Board Member (Michael McBride) will complete their four-year term on SDCERS' Board of Administration on March 31, 2021. Therefore, SDCERS will be holding elections to fill these soon-to-be vacated seats. All active City General and Fire Safety Members are eligible to nominate a candidate for their respective representative on SDCERS' Board. If you are in one of these membership classifications, you should have received a letter containing a unique validation number and explaining the nominations process. Please retain this letter, as you will need your unique validation number in order to submit a nomination or sign an existing nominee's petition. 

In order for a nominee to be eligible for the open position, they must receive at least 10 signatures on their nomination petition. You can submit a self-nomination or sign a petition online through the following website: https://vote.escvote.com/SDCERS/

If you lost your letter or have any questions about the nomination process, please email SDCERShelp@electionservicescorp.com or call 1-866-720-4357, Monday – Friday, 6:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. PST. 

All nominations must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. PST on January 6, 2021. At that time, if there is only one nominee for each open seat, an election will not be necessary. If there are competing nominations, then we will proceed with elections and you will receive another letter with further instructions if you are eligible to vote in the election. 

 

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2021 Deferred Retirement Option Plan ("DROP") Interest Rates
November 13, 2020

At today’s meeting, SDCERS’ Board of Administration voted to approve new DROP account and DROP annuity interest rates, which will be effective January 1, 2021. The DROP account rate is the interest rate used by SDCERS while a Member is in DROP and the DROP annuity rate is the interest rate used by SDCERS to annuitize the DROP monies of a Member who has exited DROP and retired. These rates are calculated annually using publicly available indexes as of September 30 of each year.
 
Effective January 1, 2021, the DROP account interest rate will be 1%, compared to the current rate of 2.5%. This interest rate will be compounded quarterly and applied to all active DROP participants’ accounts as long as the participant is actively employed by the City of San Diego, San Diego Unified Port District, or the San Diego Regional Airport Authority on the last day of each quarter. This rate is subject to change annually, which means a DROP participant’s account may receive a different interest rate every year during their participation period, depending on the Board’s actions.
 
Also beginning January 1, 2021, the DROP annuity interest rate will be 2.1%, compared to the current rate of 3.1%. This interest rate will be factored into the calculation of a DROP retiree’s monthly DROP annuity, if they DROP retire between January 1 and December 31, 2021 and choose to annuitize their DROP account. Unlike the DROP account interest rate, the DROP annuity rate will not change for an individual member – the rate that is in effect when a member DROP retires is the rate that will be applied to their annuity, regardless of whether or not the DROP annuity rate changes in future years. If you are nearing the end of your five-year DROP participation period, your decision to DROP retire before or after the New Year may be affected by the Board’s decision regarding the DROP annuity interest rate. However, if you do not plan to annuitize your DROP account upon exiting DROP, then the DROP annuity rate changes will not affect you. Click here to review your options regarding how you may choose to receive your DROP account.
 
Read the full article for an example of how the changing DROP annuity interest rate could affect the calculation of a hypothetical DROP annuity.
 
If you are currently in DROP and considering retiring before Dec. 31, you must begin the process immediately as counseling appointments will fill up fast. To begin the process, you must first go to your Member Portal account and click on “DROP Retirement Application” from the left menu, under Tools. Review this information, make your selections, and SUBMIT THE APPLICATION ONLINE. Once received, you will be contacted by an SDCERS staff member to schedule your personal phone counseling appointment. At your appointment, you can ask questions and make any changes you’d like to your application. Your electronic application is not final and you have not retired until you’ve submitted your signed application signature page, which will be emailed to you by your retirement counselor during your appointment.

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Call Center is Open, But Office Remains Closed
July 20, 2020

SDCERS staff is here to assist you – we just can’t see you in person. The Call Center's "new" hours are from 9:00 a.m. to noon, and 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. You can also submit non-urgent questions or concerns via our Contact Us page, and we will respond within one business day.
 
We appreciate your patience. The majority of SDCERS staff are still required to telecommute and our offices remain closed to members and the public.
 
Retirement counseling appointments are being held via phone and document signing takes place via email exchange. If you already have a retirement counseling appointment scheduled, you will be contacted in advance with details. If you have recently submitted your online application, you will be contacted soon to schedule your appointment.
 
If you are thinking about retiring soon, please review the fact sheets, FAQs, and videos on our website, which will help answer many of your questions in advance. Keep an eye out for retirement educational webinars, which are announced periodically via your work email. You can also estimate your future retirement benefit by using the Benefit Calculator on the Member Portal. If you have not already registered on our secure Member Portal, click on “Register” on the Member Portal page and follow the registration instructions.
 
Once you have reviewed all of the pertinent information, if you want to schedule a retirement counseling appointment, you must submit an online retirement application through your Member Portal account by clicking “Online Applications” on the left panel. Keep in mind this electronic application is not final – your submission simply prompts us to contact you to schedule a counseling appointment.
 
CITY RETIREE HEALTH REIMBURSEMENTS: City Retiree Health Reimbursement requests are being processed as usual. For fastest processing, submit your documents via email (attached as a PDF) to health@sdcers.org. Do NOT use health@sandiego.gov, as this email no longer forwards to health@sdcers.org. Please ensure you have submitted complete documents – we continue to receive incomplete submissions, which cannot be processed and result in delayed reimbursements.
 
Note: If you are using an Apple product to send the email, in Mail, please select "Format" and click on "Make Plain Text" - we've received reports of emails not getting through our firewalls if this extra step isn't taken when using an Apple product. Alternatively, you may fax your documents to (858) 581-5314, or mail them to our office at 401 West A Street, Ste. 400, San Diego, CA 92101.
 

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Call Center is Open, But Office Remains Closed
July 13, 2020

SDCERS staff is here to assist you – we just can’t see you in person. Our Call Center hours will be adjusted this week for training, as we seek the best ways to serve our members during this challenging time.
 
Tuesday, July 14             10 a.m. to noon, and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Wednesday, July 15        10 a.m. to noon, and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
 
Beginning Thursday, July 16th, the Call Center will be open on the regular schedule, from 9:00 a.m. to noon, and 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. You can also submit non-urgent questions or concerns via our Contact Us page, and we will respond within one business day.
 
We appreciate your patience. The majority of SDCERS staff are still required to telecommute and our offices remain closed to members and the public.
 
Retirement counseling appointments are being held via phone and document signing takes place via email exchange. If you already have a retirement counseling appointment scheduled, you will be contacted in advance with details. If you have recently submitted your online application, you will be contacted soon to schedule your appointment.
 
If you are thinking about retiring soon, please review the fact sheets, FAQs, and videos on our website, which will help answer many of your questions in advance. Keep an eye out for retirement educational webinars, which are announced periodically via your work email. You can also estimate your future retirement benefit by using the Benefit Calculator on the Member Portal. If you have not already registered on our secure Member Portal, click on “Register” on the Member Portal page and follow the registration instructions.
 
Once you have reviewed all of the pertinent information, if you want to schedule a retirement counseling appointment, you must submit an online retirement application through your Member Portal account by clicking “Online Applications” on the left panel. Keep in mind this electronic application is not final – your submission simply prompts us to contact you to schedule a counseling appointment.
 
CITY RETIREE HEALTH REIMBURSEMENTS: City Retiree Health Reimbursement requests are being processed as usual. For fastest processing, submit your documents via email (attached as a PDF) to health@sdcers.org. Do NOT use health@sandiego.gov, as this email no longer forwards to health@sdcers.org. Please ensure you have submitted complete documents – we continue to receive incomplete submissions, which cannot be processed and result in delayed reimbursements.
 
Note: If you are using an Apple product to send the email, in Mail, please select "Format" and click on "Make Plain Text" - we've received reports of emails not getting through our firewalls if this extra step isn't taken when using an Apple product. Alternatively, you may fax your documents to (858) 581-5314, or mail them to our office at 401 West A Street, Ste. 400, San Diego, CA 92101.

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SDCERS' Call Center is Now Open, But Office Remains Closed
June 01, 2020

Our Call Center is now open Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to noon, and 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. However, the Call Center is not currently staffed at full capacity, which is why it is only operating during limited hours. Therefore, please be patient as call waiting times may be longer than usual. To help decrease call volume, please submit non-urgent questions or concerns via our Contact Us page, which we continue to monitor and generally respond to within one business day.
 
The majority of SDCERS staff are still required to telecommute, and our offices remain closed to members and the public. We will continue to conduct retirement counseling appointments via phone, which we have been doing since the statewide shelter-in-place order began in late March. The phone counseling sessions have been well-received, and document signing takes place via email exchange. If you already have a retirement counseling appointment scheduled, you will be contacted in advance with details. If you have recently submitted your online application, you will be contacted soon to schedule your appointment.
 
If you are thinking about retiring soon, please review the fact sheets, FAQs, and videos on our website, which will help answer many of your questions in advance. Keep an eye out for retirement educational webinars, which are announced periodically via your work email. You can also estimate your future retirement benefit by using the Benefit Calculator on the Member Portal. If you have not already registered on our secure Member Portal, click on “Register” on the Member Portal page and follow the registration instructions.
 
Once you have reviewed all of the pertinent information, if you want to schedule a retirement counseling appointment, you must submit an online retirement application through your Member Portal account by clicking “Online Applications” on the left panel. Keep in mind this electronic application is not final – your submission simply prompts us to contact you to schedule a counseling appointment.
 
CITY RETIREE HEALTH REIMBURSEMENTS: City Retiree Health Reimbursement requests are being processed as usual. For fastest processing, submit your documents via email (attached as a PDF) to health@sdcers.org. Do NOT use health@sandiego.gov, as this email no longer forwards to health@sdcers.org. Please ensure you have submitted complete documents – we continue to receive incomplete submissions, which cannot be processed and result in delayed reimbursements.
 
Note: if you are using an Apple product to send the email, in Mail, please select "Format" and click on "Make Plain Text" - we've received reports of emails not getting through our firewalls if this extra step isn't taken when using an Apple product. Alternatively, you may fax your documents to (858) 581-5314, or mail them to our office at 401 West A Street, Ste. 400, San Diego, CA 92101.
 

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SDCERS is Virtually Open - Here's How to Reach Us
April 16, 2020

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, most SDCERS staff members are telecommuting, and we are unable to answer phone calls via our Call Center. We have adapted and created a new process, so rest assured that we will take care of you. Please submit questions and death notifications via our Contact Us page.
 
RETIRED MEMBERS: We want to reassure you that pension benefits will continue to be paid on time – your benefit to be deposited into your account on the last business day of each month.
 
CITY RETIREE HEALTH REIMBURSEMENTS: City Retiree Health Reimbursement requests are being processed as usual. For fastest processing, submit your documents via email (attached as a PDF) to health@sdcers.org. Do NOT use health@sandiego.gov, as this email no longer forwards to health@sdcers.org.
 
Note: if you are using an Apple product to send the email, in Mail, please select "Format" and click on "Make Plain Text" - we've received reports of emails not getting through our firewalls if this extra step isn't taken when using an Apple product. Alternatively, you may fax your documents to (858) 581-5314, or mail them to our office at 401 West A Street, Ste. 400, San Diego, CA 92101.
 
As a reminder to all, our physical office downtown is currently closed to our members, so you may not drop off any paperwork in person or meet with SDCERS staff.

NON-RETIRED MEMBERS: If you already have a retirement counseling appointment scheduled, please assume it will be held via phone on the scheduled date and time. You will be contacted in advance with details. If you have recently submitted your online application, you will be contacted soon to schedule your appointment.
 
If you are thinking about retiring soon, please review the fact sheets, FAQs, and videos on our website, which will help answer many of your questions in advance. You can also estimate your future retirement benefit by using the Benefit Calculator on the Member Portal. If you have not already registered on our secure Member Portal, click on “Register” on the Member Portal page and follow the registration instructions.
 
Once you have reviewed all of the pertinent information, if you want to schedule a retirement counseling appointment, you must submit an online retirement application through your Member Portal account by clicking “Online Applications” on the left panel. Keep in mind this electronic application is not final – your submission simply prompts us to contact you to schedule a counseling appointment.

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MESSAGE TO OUR MEMBERS DURING CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK
March 24, 2020

RETIRED MEMBERS: We want to reassure you that pension benefits will continue to be paid on time – you can expect your benefit to be deposited into your account on the last business day of each month. We are still processing health reimbursement requests as usual. However, due to most employees telecommuting at present, your request will likely be processed faster if you can send in the paperwork via email (attached as a PDF) to health@sdcers.org. Note: if you are using an Apple product to send the email, in Mail, please select "Format" and click on "Make Plain Text" - we've received reports of emails not getting through our firewalls if this extra step isn't taken when using an Apple product. Alternatively, you may fax your documents to (858) 581-5314, or mail them to our office at 401 West A Street, Ste. 400, San Diego, CA 92101.

NON-RETIRED MEMBERS: Please be advised SDCERS is currently experiencing a flood of requests for retirement counseling appointments. On top of this, we are having to reschedule many current appointments and prioritize those that are most urgent. If you are thinking about retiring soon, please review the fact sheets and FAQs on our website, which may help answer many of your questions in advance. You can also utilize our Benefit Estimate Calculator by logging in to your Member Portal account. Once you have reviewed all of the pertinent information, if you want to schedule a retirement counseling appointment, you must submit an online retirement application through your Member Portal account by clicking “Online Applications” on the left panel. Keep in mind this electronic application is not final – your submission simply prompts us to contact you to schedule a counseling appointment. Those who have a counseling appointment already scheduled, as well as those who have recently requested an appointment, will be contacted by SDCERS staff sometime in the coming weeks. Please bear with us as we are understaffed and overwhelmed with requests for appointments. We appreciate your patience and understanding during this uncertain and confusing time.
 
As a reminder to all, our offices are currently closed, so you may not drop off any paperwork in person or meet with SDCERS staff. Additionally, our Call Center is closed, which means no one is available to answer our main line. Instead, please submit all inquiries through our Contact Us page and someone will reach out to you as soon as possible.

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UPDATE: SDCERS Is Temporarily Closed, March Pension Benefits WILL Be Paid On Time
March 20, 2020

ATTENTION (updated as of 3/20/2020): Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, SDCERS continues to remain operational. However, effective today due to the statewide shelter in place order, our offices are closed until further notice. This means that all retirement counseling appointments scheduled over the next week will be rescheduled. Please note that March pension benefits will be paid on time.
 
You must send any paperwork (such as health reimbursement requests, for example) via email or U.S. mail. For the foreseeable future, you will not be able to drop off any paperwork at the office. Health-related paperwork can be emailed to health@sdcers.org or faxed to 858-581-5314. All documents can be mailed to our offices at 401 West A Street, Suite 400, San Diego, CA 92101. Please note that any paperwork that is faxed or sent via U.S. mail will not be processed until SDCERS' offices reopen. 
 
The March 23rd DROP Entry Seminar is still expected to be held as an online webinar that can be attended remotely by anyone who has a computer and internet access. Those who are registered for this seminar should have received an email with further details and instructions for attending this online webinar. If you did not receive this email and believe that you should have, please email Communications Manager Jessica Maloney at maloneyj@sdcers.org.
 
To reiterate, there are no SDCERS staff members working at the office until further notice. This means no one is available to answer the main phone lines. Instead of calling, please use the Contact Us page on our website to submit inquiries electronically.
 
Please continue to take all precautions to stay healthy and remain at home whenever possible.

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SDCERS' 2nd Updated Response to Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak
March 19, 2020

ATTENTION (updated as of 3/19/2020): Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, SDCERS continues to remain operational. However, effective today, our offices are closed to non-SDCERS staff members. This means that all retirement counseling appointments will either take place over the phone or be postponed until a later date. Those who have upcoming appointments will be contacted by an SDCERS staff member to discuss how you’d like to proceed.
 
You must send any paperwork (such as health reimbursement requests, for example) via email or U.S. mail. For the foreseeable future, you will not be able to drop off any paperwork at the office. Health-related paperwork can be emailed to health@sdcers.org or faxed to 858-581-5314. All documents can be mailed to our offices at 401 West A Street, Suite 400, San Diego, CA 92101.
 
Also, for the remainder of March, all scheduled seminars will be held as online webinars that can be accessed remotely. Those who are registered for the March 23rd DROP Entry Seminar should have received an email with further details and instructions for attending this online webinar. If you did not receive this email and believe that you should have, please email Communications Manager Jessica Maloney at maloneyj@sdcers.org.
 
As always, if you have a retirement-related emergency, please contact our Call Center at (619) 525-3600. Please be advised our Call Center is extremely understaffed for the time being and call waiting times may be longer than usual. For any non-emergencies, please use the Contact Us page on our website to submit inquiries electronically.
 
Please continue to take all precautions to stay healthy.

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SDCERS' Updated Response to Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak
March 17, 2020

ATTENTION (updated as of 3/17/2020): Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, SDCERS continues to remain operational. However, we will be discontinuing in-office visits. This means that all retirement counseling appointments will either take place over the phone or be postponed until a later date. Those who have upcoming appointments will be contacted by an SDCERS staff member to discuss how you’d like to proceed.
 
We also ask that you send any paperwork (such as health reimbursement requests, for example) via email. If you do not have access to email, you may mail in your documents or, if absolutely necessary, you can drop the paperwork off at the office. However, no staff members will be available to meet with any visitors to the office in person. Health-related paperwork can be emailed to health@sdcers.org - please attach any documents as PDF's only, as our firewalls will block any emails with non-PDF attachments. If you have other documents to send in, please inquire via the Contact Us page on our website and someone will contact you about where to send your paperwork.  
 
Also, for the remainder of March, all scheduled seminars will be held as online webinars that can be accessed remotely. Those who are registered for the March 23rd DROP Entry Seminar will be receiving an email with further details and instructions for attending this online webinar.
 
As always, if you have a retirement-related emergency, please contact our Call Center at (619) 525-3600. Please be advised our Call Center is extremely understaffed for the time being and call times may be longer than usual. For any non-emergencies, please use the Contact Us page on our website to submit inquiries electronically.
 
Please continue to take all precautions to stay healthy.

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SDCERS' Response to Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak
March 16, 2020

ATTENTION: Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, SDCERS continues to remain open for business. This means that if you have an appointment with one of our retirement counselors, you are under the age of 65, and you are healthy, please come in on your scheduled date and time unless you have been contacted by an SDCERS representative and told otherwise. However, if you are coughing, sneezing, achy, feverish, or having difficulty breathing, please postpone your visit to SDCERS until you are healthy again.

If you have a retirement-related emergency or if you’d like to reschedule your appointment, please contact our Call Center at (619) 525-3600. You may also reach us through our website's contact us submission form, here. We have a number of staff members out of the office for the foreseeable future, so if you have a non-emergency, please use our online contact us form rather than calling the Call Center in order to keep our call waiting times down at a reasonable level.
 
Also, for the remainder of March, all scheduled seminars will be turned into webinars that can be accessed remotely as long as you have computer and internet access. Those who are registered for the March 17th and March 23rd seminars will be receiving an email with further details and instructions for attending these webinars.
 
We at SDCERS consider the health and safety of our staff and members a top priority. We understand the concern and uncertainty you may be experiencing surrounding the coronavirus and are committed to being responsive as the situation evolves. In addition to following the guidelines set by the state, county, and city, SDCERS has taken the following steps towards keeping our offices a safe place for staff and members to visit:

• We have encouraged anyone on our staff who is feeling ill to stay home;

• We are encouraging members to reschedule their appointments it they are feeling ill;

• Our building always follows all OSHA guidelines for sterilization and cleanliness;

• We have taken extra steps to educate our staff on the importance of hand washing and breaking habits like touching our face, nose, and eyes; and

• We are wiping down keyboards, counters, and office areas frequently throughout the day.

Please take all precautions to stay healthy!

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2019 1099-R Tax Forms
January 22, 2020

IRS Form 1099-R’s were mailed on January 13th from our vendor based in Chicago. This means all SDCERS retirees and beneficiaries who received a payment from SDCERS in 2019 should be receiving their 2019 1099-R forms via U.S. mail over the next couple of weeks. To access your 1099-R form sooner, please log in to your Member Portal account, click on “1099R and W2” on the left, and select “2019 1099R” to download an electronic copy. You can also update your tax withholding preferences on your Member Portal by clicking on “Tax Withholding.” This guide explains how to update your tax withholding preferences.
 
For a detailed explanation of the pertinent information in your 1099-R, as well as answers to frequently asked questions regarding this tax form, please review our 1099-R Fact Sheet. If you have additional questions, please contact the Call Center at (619) 525-3600 or submit your questions electronically via our Contact Us web form.

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Active Member Death Benefits and the Importance of Keeping Your Beneficiary Designations Updated
December 11, 2019

When was the last time you thought about your SDCERS beneficiary designations? Over a year ago? Five years? The day you enrolled in SDCERS? Maybe never? Beneficiary designations may seem like a chore you can put off or do once and forget about, but the truth is you should review your beneficiary designations at least once a year to make sure they reflect your current circumstances. For example, beneficiary designations probably aren’t the first thing on your mind when you get married or divorced, have a child, or lose a loved one, but these are all defining life events that may affect who you want to receive your pension benefits when you die.

Active Members (meaning those who are actively employed by the City, Port,* or Airport and contributing to SDCERS, but are not in DROP) are eligible to leave one of three types of death benefits if they die before retiring or entering DROP, and the eligibility requirements are very specific for two of the three types. Importantly, if you die without having designated your surviving spouse as your sole pre-retirement death benefit beneficiary, then your surviving spouse will not be eligible to receive the lifetime Death While Eligible or Industrial Death Benefit, even if all other eligibility requirements are satisfied. This article contains a summary of the death benefits provided to Active Members, but please review the Death Benefits Fact Sheet for more in-depth information.

*General Port employees hired or rehired on or after January 1, 2009 must complete five consecutive years of Port employment after each hire or rehire date before they become Members of SDCERS and are eligible to leave a death benefit.

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SDCERS Board Approves Annual Supplemental Benefit and Corbett Settlement Increase for 2019
November 08, 2019

At its November 8, 2019 meeting, SDCERS’ Board of Administration approved payment of the Annual Supplemental Benefit, also known as the “13th Check,” and the Corbett Settlement Increase (“Corbett benefit”) for eligible retirees and continuance beneficiaries. The Supplemental Benefit is paid in years when the fund’s investment earnings are sufficient to qualify, according to a set formula defined in the plan documents, and the Corbett benefit is paid in years that the Supplemental Benefit is paid. If you are eligible for one or both of these benefits, payment will be included in your November 2019 monthly pension benefit.
 
The eligibility requirements for the Supplemental Benefit and Corbett settlement benefits are described in our FAQs under “Annual Supplemental Benefit ("13th Check"), Corbett, COLA, COL Annuity.” Here, you will also find a description of how these benefits are calculated.

Click "Read More" to view the full article.

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SDCERS Receives the 2019 Public Pension Standards Award for Funding and Administration
October 21, 2019

For the second year in a row, SDCERS has been awarded the Public Pension Standards Award for Funding and Administration. The Public Pension Coordinating Council grants this award, which recognizes SDCERS for meeting professional standards for plan funding and administration as set forth in the Public Pension Standards.​

Click "Read More" for more information about this award.

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Meet Your SDCERS Call Center Representatives!
September 27, 2019

If you’ve ever called SDCERS, odds are you’ve spoken to one of our Call Center representatives. These are the people who spend all day, every day answering Members’ questions and trying to fix their problems. As anyone in customer service will likely tell you, it can sometimes be a thankless job. However, our Call Center representatives are lucky to have kind and patient Members, and our Members are equally lucky to have such passionate and caring people on the other end of the phone.

At some point, almost all of our Members will talk to someone in the Call Center, so we thought you might like to know a little more about the ladies you’ll be talking to and maybe even put a face to the name of your representative.

Click "Read More" below to view the full article and see individual bios for each of our Call Center staff members!


From Left to Right: Sarema Valenzuela, Catherine Ayala, Andrea Valdes, Selene Rodriguez, and Victoria Fedalizo.

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SDCERS' Board Appoints New Vice President and Committee Chairs
September 13, 2019

At the September 13th Board meeting, Board President Carol Broad appointed Carina Coleman to the position of Vice President. The appointment was unanimously approved by the remaining members of the Board who were present. The Vice President’s duties include acting as the Board President whenever the Board President is absent or otherwise unable to fulfill their duties, and temporarily assuming the role of Board President until an election can be scheduled in the event the current Board President’s seat becomes vacant. Ms. Coleman was additionally appointed to be the new Chair of the Investment Committee, a seat previously occupied by Board President Carol Broad.


From Left to Right: Charlie Hogquist, Carina Coleman, Carol Broad, and Thanasi Preovolos

The Audit Committee reappointed Roberta Spoon as its Chair, and the current Chairs of the Business and Governance Committee and Disability Committee will remain the same as well: Thanasi Preovolos and Charles Hogquist, respectively.

Please join us in congratulating our new Vice President and Committee Chairs! You can watch the September 13th Board meeting by going to Board Meeting Agendas and clicking on “View Media” next to the September 13, 2019 Board of Aministration Meeting line item.

 

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Annual Member Statements
August 16, 2019

Non-retired SDCERS Members will be receiving their Annual Statement of Benefits in the mail over the next several days. This statement contains detailed account information for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2019, which means the information is current as of July 1, 2019. The purpose of this Annual Statement of Benefits is (1) to ensure that your beneficiary designations are updated, and (2) to keep you informed of the details of your SDCERS retirement account.

Please review the information on your statement carefully and contact SDCERS if you need to update your information or if you believe there is an error in your statement.

A video detailing the contents of your statement is available here.

If you have questions about your Annual Statement of Benefits, please visit your Payroll Specialist or call the SDCERS Call Center at 619-525-3600. And remember, your most up-to-date account information is always available on the SDCERS Member Portal.

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SDCERS' Board Welcomes Two New Members, and Carina Coleman Reappointed for Second Term
August 05, 2019

Last week, the City Council unanimously approved the Mayor’s appointment of two new Board Members: Clifford Schireson and Paul Kaufmann. The City Council also approved the reappointment of veteran Board Member Carina Coleman.

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Active City Members: Register for Upcoming Pre-Retirement Seminar!
July 31, 2019

UPDATE: THE SEPTEMBER SEMINAR IS NOW FULL. WE WILL ANNOUNCE THE DATES OF FUTURE SEMINARS AS THEY ARE SCHEDULED.

Attention All Active City Members:
 
Registration is now open for SDCERS’ upcoming pre-retirement seminar, which will be held on September 11th at 2:30 p.m. in SDCERS’ Board room (401 West A Street, Third Floor, San Diego, CA 92101). At this educational seminar, SDCERS staff will walk you through your retirement benefits and help you plan for the future.

No matter how old you are, it’s never too early or too late to start thinking about your retirement goals and making plans so that you can meet those goals. Space is limited, so please call SDCERS as soon as possible to register, at (619) 525-3600.  Additional pre-retirement seminars and DROP entry seminars will be held in the future, so if you miss this one, you can plan to attend next time.
 
NOTE: You must attend a pre-retirement seminar before attending a Deferred Retirement Option Plan (“DROP”) entry seminar.

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New SDCERS Board President
July 12, 2019

After former Board President Val Hoy maxed out his term limit, the Board established a Nomination Committee at its May meeting to nominate a fellow Board Member for the vacant position. Today, the Nomination Committee unanimously recommended Carol Broad be elected as the new Board President, and the Board unanimously approved this recommendation. 

Carol has served as the Board’s Vice President since July 13, 2018 and she has acted as the interim Board President since Val Hoy vacated the office. Carol is also the Chair of the Investment Committee and has over 30 years of experience in the financial industry, particularly in providing investment advice to major public and corporate pension funds. For more information about Carol’s professional background.

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Important Reciprocity Update
June 24, 2019

SDCERS administers the pension plans for three plan sponsors - the City of San Diego, the San Diego Unified Port District, and the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority. Your ability to establish reciprocity depends on which plan sponsor you intend to work for, so please review this information carefully. If you are currently working at a California government agency that participates in reciprocity, and you are considering employment with the Port or Airport, you can apply to establish reciprocity. If you are currently working at a California government agency that participates in reciprocity, and you are considering employment with the City of San Diego, please note that only sworn police officers may join the City of San Diego’s pension plan. The City’s pension plan was closed on July 20, 2012, following the passage of City Proposition B, to all new hires except sworn police officers.

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SDCERS Recognizes Outgoing Board Trustees
June 17, 2019

Serving as an SDCERS Trustee requires expertise, attention and time – with no compensation – and a commitment to delivering accurate and timely benefits to participants and ensure the trust fund’s safety, integrity and growth. Having accomplished this, three SDCERS Board Trustees were recently honored for their service.Board President and Mayoral Appointee Valentine S. Hoy, Mayoral Appointee William W. Haynor and Active Police Safety Trustee Thomas A. Sullivan, who each served two four-year terms, were recognized at the March 10, 2019 Board meeting, and at a send-off event in April. The new Board President will be selected at the July Board meeting. We are excited to welcome Sgt. Louis Maggi as our newly elected Active Police Safety Trustee seat. SDCERS is governed by a 13-member Board of Administration, responsible for the prudent administration of retirement benefits for City of San Diego, San Diego Unified Port District and San Diego County Regional Airport employees, and for overseeing the investment portfolio of the retirement system’s trust fund.

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Fiscal Year 2020 COLA & City Retiree Health Open Enrollment Help Day
June 05, 2019

At its May 10, 2019 meeting, the Board approved two Cost of Living Adjustments (“COLA”) that will be applied to eligible retirees’ monthly benefit from July 2019 – June 2020. Members whose retirement date is before July 1, 2018 will receive a COLA increase of 2.0%. Members whose retirement date is between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019 will receive a COLA increase of 1.9%.  Also, 2019-2020 Health Open Enrollment for eligible City Retirees will run from June 3 – 28, 2019. This year’s Health Open Enrollment Help Day is Friday, June 14 at the Balboa Park Club Ballroom. There will be no formal presentations, but SDCERS staff and representatives from sponsored health plans will be available to answer questions from 10:00 a.m. – noon. You may also submit your enrollment forms directly to SDCERS staff at this event. Click here for more information

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City Retiree Health Open Enrollment Kickoff
May 23, 2019

2019-2020 Health Open Enrollment for eligible City Retirees will run from June 3 – 28, 2019. The Health Open Enrollment Kickoff is this Friday, May 24 at the Balboa Park Club Ballroom. The event will feature formal presentations by Kaiser, Cigna, SCAN Health Plan, and Sharp from 10:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m., and retirees will be able to talk to the providers and ask questions until noon. Click here for more information

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Fact Check Your Future
April 02, 2019

SDCERS administers benefits for more than 20 plan tiers, and you can learn more about YOUR plan by reading the Retirement Plan Summary that corresponds to your employer and hire date. Understand how your retirement contributions are calculated, when you are eligible for a lifetime retirement benefit, and your retirement benefit formula. Invest a few minutes in learning about your retirement future. 

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SDCERS' Board Votes to Set Minimum Pension Payments
January 17, 2019

At the January meeting, SDCERS' Board of Administration took another important step toward pension stability by voting to set minimum annual pension payments of the Unfunded Actuarial Liability (UAL) for the City of San Diego and the Port of San Diego.

This minimum payment is also referred to as a "floor," meaning even if the required annual payment is less than the "floor," that minimum amount must be paid each year. The UAL floor payment for the City was set at $275.5 million and $13.3 million for the Port. This is based on the June 30, 2018 actuarial valuations which set the payment amount for the fiscal 2020 payment to the retirement system.

The new policy increases benefit security and helps the pension fund reach full funding by 2037, several years earlier than anticipated.

The Board also voted to prospectively limit the long-term impacts of changes to the assumed rate of return (discount rate), retirement rates, and life expectancy assumptions, to a 20-year period from the previous 30-year period.

A video of the Board discussion and vote is available here.

 

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SDCERS Reports 8.9% Final Investment Return for Fiscal Year 2018
November 27, 2018

SDCERS’ Total Fund reported performance of +8.9% net of fees compared to the benchmark of 7.6% and assets topped $8 billion for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2018. U.S. equities were a strong source of value-add during the year, up 16.3% compared to the benchmark of 14.8%.