Frequently Asked Questions

You are a Member of SDCERS if you are a full-time, three-quarter-time, or half time employee of the City of San Diego,* the San Diego Unified Port District, or the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority.

*Unless you are (1) a non-sworn City employee who was initially hired between July 20, 2012 and July 10, 2021 (the time period during which the pension system was closed to new City hires due to Proposition B) and you elected to stay in the SPSP-H plan instead of joining SDCERS on July 9, 2022; or (2) an unclassified Airport employee initially hired on or after January 1, 2024 and did not proactively elect to join SDCERS before beginning Airport employment. 

Each pay period, a percentage of your salary is deducted from your paycheck for your Member contributions.* Your contribution rate is determined by your retirement plan and your age at the time you became a Member of SDCERS. Please review your Retirement Plan Summary for more information about your contribution rate. SDCERS’ Board adjusts mandatory employee contribution rates as needed based on the advice of the Board’s actuarial consultant.  

*Note: Not applicable to Port General Miscellaneous Members, who do not make contributions.

Your member contributions are deducted from each biweekly paycheck on a pre-tax basis. The money comes out of your paycheck in one lump sum and is transferred to SDCERS. Once SDCERS receives your contribution, it is divided into three separate "buckets" within your individual member contribution account: the majority goes towards funding your base pension benefit (referred to as "normal contributions"), a small portion goes into your Cost of Living Annuity ("COL Annuity") bucket (if applicable to your plan tier), and the remaining portion goes into your Surviving Spouse Annuity bucket (ultimately intended to fund your continuance benefit after you die - see the Death Benefits Fact Sheet and Retirement Benefit Options Fact Sheet for more information). 

Until you either retire, enter DROP, or withdraw your contributions after termination, your individual member contribution account will continue to earn annual compounded interest, applied every June 30th, at the discount rate (currently 6.5%).* You can see the current balance of your account via your Member Portal. 

See the Termination & Deferred Membership Fact Sheet for more information about your options regarding your individual member contribution account upon termination. 

*Non-vested, inactive Airport Members' accounts will earn interest at the current DROP account interest rate, rather than the discount rate, unless they become vested due to reciprocal service credit or return to work for an SDCERS plan sponsor.  

No. However, you can withdraw your employee contributions (including interest) after you terminate your employment with your SDCERS plan sponsor. Please keep in mind that by withdrawing your employee contributions, you forfeit your right to a pension from SDCERS.

A Member is “deferred vested” if they left their job at the City, Port, or Airport after earning enough service credit to be service-eligible to retire. To be “deferred vested,” the Member must also have left their employee contributions on deposit with SDCERS.

You will automatically receive a termination packet from SDCERS with instructions regarding your SDCERS account and future retirement. Please see the Termination & Deferred Membership Fact Sheet for more information.

Click on the following link to learn about the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (“USERRA”):
https://www.dol.gov/vets/programs/userra/USERRA_Private.pdf

For more information, please contact a representative from the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve at 800-336-4590, Option 1, or email OSD.USERRA@mail.mil.

When you are ready to begin thinking about retirement or entering DROP, you should attend one of SDCERS’ monthly retirement seminars. SDCERS’ Calendar shows the dates and times of future seminars/webinars and you can access the registration link by adding the event to your calendar.

If you will be age and service-eligible to retire in six months or less, you may begin the retirement application process. First, log in to your Member Portal account and submit a service retirement, DROP entry, or DROP exit application (don’t worry – this is not your final application and you can make changes later). After you’ve submitted your initial application, SDCERS will contact you to schedule an appointment with one of SDCERS’ retirement counselors, who will meet with you and discuss your options and the next steps.

You can retire when you are age and service-eligible according to your retirement plan. Please review your Retirement Plan Summary for your specific eligibility requirements.

Your annual benefit is calculated according to this formula:

(Retirement Factor) x (Service Credit) x (Final Compensation)

Divide this amount by 12 to estimate your monthly benefit amount. Your retirement factor depends on your retirement plan and age at retirement. Your Final Compensation is your highest pensionable salary averaged over one or three years, depending on your plan tier. You may also have a Cost of Living Annuity added to your benefit when you retire, depending on your plan tier.

Please review your Retirement Plan Summary for more information.

When you fill out your application to retire or enter DROP, you must select either the Maximum Benefit (Single), Maximum Benefit (Married), or one of four reduced retirement options:

Maximum Benefit (Married) – This benefit will grant you the highest possible monthly benefit amount, but rather than receiving a refund of your Surviving Spouse contributions, your spouse is guaranteed a lifetime continuance benefit upon your death equal to 50% of your monthly benefit. However, if you retired or entered DROP after September 18, 2008, the surviving spouse named to receive this continuance benefit must have been married to you on the date you retired or entered DROP and on the day you died – if you and your spouse divorce after retirement, the 50% continuance benefit will be forfeited. Similarly, the 50% continuance benefit will be forfeited if your spouse predeceases you. In neither case will your benefit be recalculated.

Maximum Benefit (Single) – If you select this benefit, you will receive the highest possible monthly benefit amount and you will receive a refund of your Surviving Spouse contributions either as a lump sum payment or as an annuity added to your monthly pension benefit. However, this option does not provide a continuance benefit upon your death.

Option 1 – By selecting this option, you do not leave a continuance benefit and you will receive a reduced monthly benefit. However, if you die before receiving the total amount of your accumulated employee contributions (and interest), SDCERS will pay the remaining balance to your named beneficiary.  

Option 2 – This option reduces your monthly benefit, but allows you to designate a continuance beneficiary who, upon your death, will be paid 100% of your monthly benefit for the rest of their life. Your continuance beneficiary does not have to be your spouse, but it does have to be a person (e.g., it cannot be a trust or your estate) and you cannot change this beneficiary designation after you have retired or entered DROP. The amount your benefit is reduced depends on the age difference between you and your beneficiary – the greater the age gap, the greater the reduction.

Option 3 – This option is similar to Option 2, but your continuance beneficiary will be paid 50% of your monthly benefit for the rest of their life after you die. Your continuance beneficiary does not have to be your spouse, but it does have to be a person and you cannot change this beneficiary designation after you have retired or entered DROP. The amount your benefit is reduced depends on the age difference between you and your beneficiary – the greater the age gap, the greater the reduction.

Option 4 – Like Options 2 and 3, you will receive a reduced monthly benefit, but in this case, you determine the percentage of your benefit that your continuance beneficiary will receive upon your death (between 0-100%). The higher the percentage and the greater the age gap between you and your continuance beneficiary, the bigger the reduction to your monthly benefit. Again, your continuance beneficiary under this option can be anyone, including your spouse, but it must be a person. Your continuance beneficiary designation is irrevocable once you have retired or entered DROP.

(See the Retirement Benefit Options Fact Sheet for more information)

If you received a 1099 and a W-2 from SDCERS, that means you are participating in what is known as the Preservation of Benefits (“POB”) Plan. Internal Revenue Code section 415(b) sets a cap on the amount of your pension benefit that can come from the SDCERS trust fund in any given tax year. If your annual pension benefit exceeds section 415(b) limits, then the remainder of your pension benefit will be distributed from the POB Plan, which is simply a separate fund administered by SDCERS. Please note that this does not mean your pension benefit will be reduced – you will still receive the monthly benefit you are entitled to via a single direct deposit, only a portion of those funds will be distributed from a different source. If you are affected by section 415(b), you will receive a W-2 every year for the funds you received from the POB Plan, and a 1099 for the funds you received from the SDCERS trust fund.

You should receive your first retirement check within 6 – 8 weeks of your retirement date. Plan ahead – you may go at least a month without receiving a payment after your retirement date. Your first payment will be prorated to cover whatever time has passed since your retirement date.

A Power of Attorney is a document you can use to grant another person certain powers to act on your behalf. You should speak to an attorney for advice about whether or not you need a Power of Attorney and, if so, what kind. If you have a Power of Attorney that grants powers related to your SDCERS retirement account, you must provide a copy of the Power of Attorney to SDCERS. Click here to see SDCERS’ Special Durable Power of Attorney Form.

The first step is to submit a written appeal of staff’s decision to SDCERS’ Member Services Director, which must include detailed facts supporting your argument. Please see SDCERS’ Appeal of Staff Decisions Regarding Benefits Policy.

The Windfall Elimination Provision and/or Government Pension Offset may require your social security benefits to be reduced when you begin receiving SDCERS pension benefits if you are a City retiree. In order to find out if your social security benefits will be affected by your SDCERS pension, please contact the Social Security Administration at 1 (800) 772-1213. You will need to be able to tell them what your monthly pension benefit is or will be in order for them to determine how much your social security benefits will be reduced, if at all.  

Any social security benefits you receive will NOT affect your SDCERS pension benefits.

Unless you have chosen a retirement option that allowed you to designate a continuance beneficiary, your pension benefits will end when you die. If you have a continuance beneficiary, your benefits will end upon their death or yours - whichever occurs later.

If you leave your contributions on deposit with SDCERS after you terminate employment with your SDCERS plan sponsor, regardless of whether you are age and/or service-vested, the IRS requires that you begin receiving payments from your SDCERS account when you reach a certain age. You will be compelled to take a “Required Minimum Distribution” of your SDCERS retirement funds by age 70 ½ if you were born before July 1, 1949, by age 72 if you were born after June 30, 1949, or by age 73 if you were born on or after January 1, 1951, regardless of whether or not you are vested.* If you have not yet begun collecting your pension benefit by your RMD age, SDCERS will notify you of this requirement.

*Although, some exceptions may apply - if you are still working for an SDCERS plan sponsor or a reciprocal system, for example. Please contact a tax professional for further guidance.

Other than your personally identifiable information, you will need to know the net amount of your last pension benefit payment if you are retired, your last DROP contribution amount if you are an active DROP participant, or the member contribution amount that was deducted from your last paycheck if you are neither retired nor in DROP. You can find your last pension payment on your most recent bank statement, and your last contribution amount can be found under “pre-tax deductions” on your most recent pay statement. If you don’t have access to these documents, you can contact SDCERS for help at (619) 525-3600.
 
You will also need access to the email you intend to use to register your Member Portal account.  We recommend not using a work email address – be sure the email you choose is one that you will have indefinite access to. After you register, you will not be able to change the email address associated with your Member Portal account.
 
Also, make sure you choose challenge questions that you will remember the answers to. If you get locked out of your account in the future, you will need to answer all three challenge questions correctly in order to reset your password.

Member Portal Brochure for Active Members

Member Portal Brochure for Retired Members

• Use the Retirement Benefit Calculator to estimate your future pension benefit amount

• Begin the retirement or DROP application process (if you will be eligible to retire within the next 6 months)

• Update your beneficiary designations

• Apply for reciprocity

• See the current balance of your SDCERS retirement account

• Download and print your Annual Member Statements

• Submit purchase of service requests

• View your DROP account balance and deposits

• Submit your DROP Retirement Application

• View your COLA payment & COLA bank

• Update your beneficiary designations

• Update your phone number

• Download and print your Annual Member Statements

• View your monthly pension payment statements

• Download and print 1099’s

• Update your beneficiary designations

• Change your direct deposit information

• Update your tax withholding preferences

• Update your contact information

• Request award letters for lenders

NO. You are the only person allowed to access your online Member Portal account. Do not give anyone else your login information. For security reasons, no one else should be able to do things like update your beneficiaries or change your bank account information without your knowledge.

Use the “Forgot Password” button to reset your password. You will need to have access to the email account associated with your Member Portal and be able to correctly answer your three challenge questions in order to reset your password. If you experience any other issues while registering or using your Member Portal account, please call 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).

Yes. Whenever significant actions are taken in your Member Portal account (e.g., changes to beneficiary designations, reciprocity requests, retirement/DROP application submission, PSC requests, direct deposit, address, tax withholdings, new contact info), you will receive an email confirming the change.

Click “Create New Estimate,” read the Terms and Conditions, and click “Agree” if you agree. Your earliest possible retirement date will be displayed; however, you can select a later retirement date or you can increase your service credit to compare different retirement scenarios.
 
You can also project a different Final Average Salary by entering any amount in the “Increase Final Average Salary To:” box.
 
Next, choose your retirement benefit option: Maximum Benefit (Single), Maximum Benefit (Married), Option 1, 2, or 3. For an explanation of each benefit option, please review the Retirement Benefit Option Fact Sheet before completing this step.
 
Lastly, enter your tax withholdings and status. Click "Finish" at the top of the page and your estimate will be generated. You can create as many estimates using as many different scenarios as you’d like.   

After you log in to your Member Portal account, click on "Tax Withholding" under the Tools section. From there, you can use this guide to walk you through how to update your tax withholding designations. (This applies to retirees and certain beneficiaries only.)

Prop B was a City of San Diego ballot measure that, among other things, ended pensions for employees initially hired by the City on or after July 20, 2012, except for sworn police officers. If you were initially hired by the City on or after July 20, 2012 and you are not a sworn police officer, you are not a Member of SDCERS. Please contact Risk Management for information regarding your deferred compensation benefits.

If you are a Port Member, Airport Member, active DROP participant, retiree, inactive or deferred vested Member, then Prop B does not affect you. If you are a City employee initially hired between July 20, 2012 and July 10, 2021, Prop B may affect you and your retirement benefits. However, this law has been invalidated and the City is in the process of negotiating with relevant labor unions to reinstate the pension system for all City employees.

At its January 31, 2022 meeting, the City Council approved settlement agreements with the MEA and Local 127 regarding the unwinding of Prop B. Please view this article for more information. The City is still in negotiations with the other relevant labor unions and will announce more information once agreements are reached. 
 

With respect to Prop B, the term “initially hired” means that the employee never worked for the City of San Diego in any capacity prior to July 20, 2012. For example, if an employee worked for the City before July 20, 2012, subsequently terminated employment, and then was rehired between July 20, 2012 and July 10, 2021, they are considered to have been “initially hired” before the effective date of Prop B and therefore would be a contributing SDCERS Member. This would also be true of employees who were hired into a position not eligible for SDCERS membership before Prop B (e.g., an hourly position) and are transferred into an eligible position after Prop B’s effective date (e.g., a full time position).

If an employee was initially hired during Prop B's effective period, regardless of whether that position was benefitted or not, they were a "Prop B employee" automatically enrolled in the City's SPSP-H plan instead of joining SDCERS. This is true even if such employee left the City and was subsequently rehired into a benefitted position after the City's pension system reopened on July 10, 2021. 

Importantly, employees of a reciprocal system who did not work for the City before July 20, 2012* are not currently able to establish reciprocity with the City (excluding sworn police officers). The City is still negotiating with labor unions how reciprocity will work for such employees now that Prop B has been repealed. 

*City employees hired by the City on or after July 10, 2021, and City employees who retroactively joined SDCERS in the summer of 2022, are able to establish reciprocity. 

Since Prop B went into effect in July 2012, it has been embroiled in litigation. The case went all the way to the California Supreme Court, which determined the Mayor Sanders’ support of the initiative and failure to meet and confer with recognized unions over pension changes violated the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act. The Court of Appeal ordered the City to work with the labor unions to agree upon a “make-whole” remedy for City employees who were affected by Prop B. However, the Court of Appeal did not invalidate the law itself – meaning Prop B was still in effect. In June 2019, the City Council voted to join the labor unions in what is called a “quo warranto” action to repeal Prop B through the courts. In September 2019, the unions filed a quo warranto action in San Diego Superior Court requesting that Prop B be overturned. SDCERS is not a party to any litigation connected to Prop B and we won’t know whether or not Prop B will be overturned until all Prop B-related litigation has concluded.

Update as of January 5, 2021: On January 5, 2021, the trial court heard oral arguments from all of the parties involved in the quo warranto action to overturn Prop B. At the hearing, the trial court issued a verbal ruling from the bench, declaring that Prop B is invalid. The court will issue a written statement of its decision, which will direct the City Council to erase Prop B's language from the City's Charter. If the trial court's decision is appealed, any enforcement of the decision may be stalled until the appeal is resolved.

Update as of April 12, 2021: The deadline for proponents of Prop B to appeal the trial court's decision has passed, which means the trial court's order invalidating Prop B is final. Next, the City must take legislative action to remove Prop B from the City Charter and restore all terms and conditions of employment to what they were prior to Prop B's effective date (July 20, 2012). This legislative action will be needed to allow new City employees to be enrolled in the SDCERS defined benefit pension plan at the time of hire. This action will also allow the City and the labor unions to determine how, when, and under what terms to move current active employees into the SDCERS pension plan.

Update as of July 10, 2021: New City employees hired from this date forward will participate in the pension system. The City and relevant labor unions are in continuing negotiations regarding how to implement Prop B's invalidation as it pertains to City employees (non-police officers) hired between July 20, 2012 and July 10, 2021. Once negotiations are finalized and SDCERS receives direction regarding the outcome, employees affected by Proposition B will be contacted with more information. 

Update as of January 31, 2022: Please see the information in this article regarding agreements reached between the City and some labor unions. The City is still in negotiations with the remaining labor unions regarding the unwinding of Prop B and will announce more information once agreements are reached. 

Update as of September 1, 2022: All active City employees who either chose to retroactively join SDCERS or who joined by default as a result of their labor union's negotiated agreement are officially SDCERS Members. All or a portion of those employees' SPSP-H accounts were transferred to their SDCERS member contribution accounts in order to restore their eligible years of service credit. Please log in to your Member Portal account to monitor your contributions and service credit. Principal is still the administrator of City-sponsored 401(a), 401(k), and SPSP accounts. The City and relevant labor unions are in continuing negotiations regarding all separated City employees who were affected by Prop B. 

Update as of September 28, 2023: In early February, 2023, the terms of a Prop B Settlement Agreement with the MEA and Local 127 concluded regarding City employees who were hired during the Prop B time period, but left City employment before July 9, 2022. On February 28, 2023, the San Diego City Council approved these agreements. A copy of the approved agreement and description of the City’s make-whole obligations can be found on this website: https://www.sandiego.gov/riskmanagement/services/propb. The City will be sending letters to affected former City employees in late 2023, which will describe the process of purchasing SDCERS service credit associated with their period of City employment and the associated deadlines.


NOTE: SDCERS is not directly involved with negotiations regarding the invalidation of Prop B. Please direct all relevant questions to your respective labor union representative or to PropB@sandiego.gov. 

“Reciprocity” allows a public employee to move between certain retirement systems in California without starting over in terms of service credit accrual. For example, SDCERS has reciprocity with CalPERS and all ’37 Act retirement systems. A  Member who establishes reciprocity can combine the service credit they’ve earned from all reciprocal retirement systems and use the total amount of service credit to meet retirement eligibility requirements. They can also use their highest pensionable salary from any system to calculate their retirement benefit from SDCERS.

If you are currently working at a California government agency that participates in reciprocity and you are considering employment with the City, Port, or Airport, you can apply to establish reciprocity so long as you meet the requirements to do so. You may also be eligible to establish reciprocity if you leave City, Port, or Airport employment and begin employment at a reciprocal agency within 6 months. Please see the fact sheet linked above for more information. 

Within 6 months of leaving your current job, you must begin employment with an employer in a reciprocal retirement system and eventually become a Member of that system. You cannot have overlapping employment or retirement service credit between employers – for example, you cannot begin your new employment while you are utilizing paid or unpaid leave through your previous employer. Also, you cannot withdraw your employee contributions from any reciprocal system. Finally, you must retire from all reciprocal systems simultaneously. It is important to note that even after establishing reciprocity, if you later break reciprocity, it will be as if you never established reciprocity at all.

PEPRA is a set of state laws that went into effect on January 1, 2013. These laws include several provisions intended to end “pension spiking” and standardize pension benefits for New Members under PEPRA. Certain parts of PEPRA also affect “Classic Members” (i.e., public employees hired before 2013) by doing things like eliminating “air time” service credit purchases and adopting felony forfeiture and working after retirement provisions.

For the purposes of determining if PEPRA applies to you, "New Member" means any of the following for Port or Airport employees:

(1) An individual who becomes a member of any public retirement system for the first time on or after January 1, 2013, and who was not a member of any other public retirement system prior to that date;

(2) An individual who becomes a member of a public retirement system for the first time on or after January 1, 2013, and who was a member of another public retirement system prior to that date, but who was not subject to reciprocity under Gov. Code section 7522.02(c); or

(3) An individual who was an active member in a retirement system and who, after a break in service of more than six months, returned to active membership in that system with a new employer. 
 

Some provisions of PEPRA apply to all Port and Airport Members, while other aspects apply only to New Members of the Port and Airport. Accordingly, these laws have been incorporated into the Port and Airport’s retirement plans.

PEPRA does not apply to the City of San Diego's pension plan.

PEPRA was a statewide pension reform initiative and as such, it greatly affected public employee pension benefits in a multitude of ways. Some of its most significant provisions are summarized below:

• Reduced pension benefit formulas for New Members (see your Retirement Plan Summary for details).
• Calculated New Members’ Final Compensation as their highest pensionable salary averaged over three consecutive years.
• Enacted a cap on pensionable compensation for New Members.
• Changed the definition of “pensionable compensation” for New Members such that certain pay items beyond base compensation are excluded from their pension benefit calculation.
• Required New Members to pay at least 50% of normal pension costs and prohibited employers from paying any part of New Members’ employee contributions.
• Eliminated the option to purchase “air time.”
• Imposed limitations on a retiree’s ability to return to work for an employer in the same retirement system.
• Mandated the forfeiture of a public employee’s pension if they are convicted of a job-related felony.
• Prohibited retroactive pension benefit enhancements.

Unfortunately, if you’ve been overpaid benefits or if you underpaid employee contributions, you will have to pay back the amount owed plus interest, even if the mistake was not your fault. You may pay the entire amount in a lump sum or through a payment plan. If the Member does not reach a voluntary agreement on payment terms, SDCERS will implement a payment plan by deducting an amount from the Member’s monthly pension check until the repayment is complete. Interest will continue to accrue until the entire amount has been repaid. Before commencing involuntary deductions from the Member’s pension check, SDCERS will advise the Member of its intention to do so and provide them with information about their appeal rights. For more information, please see the Overpayment & Underpayment of Benefits Policy and the Underpayment & Overpayment of Contributions Policy, which can be found in SDCERS' Board Charters, Policies, & Rules.

SDCERS has a fiduciary duty to its membership as a whole, which includes protecting the trust fund and ensuring it maintains its tax-qualified status. One of the fundamental requirements of maintaining the plan’s tax-qualified status is that SDCERS must administer benefits according to the terms of the plan. When SDCERS overpays a Member, it has failed to administer the plan according to its terms. Paying a Member more than what they are entitled to under the plan reduces the assets available to pay other Members and beneficiaries the benefits they are owed. As a tax-qualified plan, SDCERS must follow the rules and regulations adopted by the Internal Revenue Service for correcting overpaid benefits and underpaid contributions. SDCERS’ correction policies and procedures are designed to comply with IRS regulations.

The IRS has published certain Revenue Procedures that require SDCERS to restore the plan to the position it would have been in had the error not occurred, and specifically requires collection of the full overpayment “plus interest at the plan’s earnings rate.” The reason interest must be included is because if the error had never occurred, the money that was mistakenly overpaid to the Member would have remained in the trust fund and earned interest through investments. Interest will be added according to SDCERS’ Overpayment & Underpayment of Benefits Policy and the Underpayment & Overpayment of Contributions Policy, which can be found in SDCERS' Board Charters, Policies, & Rules.

Limited purchases of service credit are available depending on your retirement plan. In order to purchase service credit, you must be an active Member, meaning you are currently working for the City, Port, or Airport and SDCERS is actively receiving your pension contributions. Due to pension reforms, Members are no longer able to purchase “Air Time” (time during which the Member was not employed by the City, Port, or Airport in any capacity) except for City Members hired before July 1, 2005, who may purchase up to five years of "air time."

See Board Rule 4.00 or the Purchase of Service Credit Fact Sheet for a comprehensive list of permissible purchases of service credit.

All three plan sponsors offer industrial disability retirement benefits for employees who are permanently incapacitated due to a work-related injury or illness, as well as non-industrial disability retirement benefits for employees who are permanently incapacitated due to any injury or illness and have accrued at least 10 years of service credit.

To be eligible for an industrial disability retirement, you must satisfy the following elements:

1. You are permanently incapacitated from substantially performing your usual job duties;

2. Your incapacity cannot be accommodated by your employer, rendering your retirement necessary;

3. Your job substantially caused the permanent incapacity; and

4. Your incapacity is not due to a preexisting medical condition or mental disorder.* 
   
   ​*Limited exceptions to this rule may apply, as described in the relevant plan document.

To be eligible for a non-industrial disability retirement, you must have at least 10 years of service credit and be permanently incapacitated such that your retirement is rendered necessary.

You should file an application for disability retirement as soon as your medical condition becomes permanent and you are unable to perform the substantial job duties associated with your usual position.  Conditions are “permanent” when no change for the better is reasonably anticipated. 

You must file your disability retirement application while you are still actively working, including modified duty; within four months of discontinuing active service; or within two years of discontinuing active service if you can prove that you were continuously incapacitated from the date of discontinuance until the date you apply.

The application process begins when you contact SDCERS to schedule an appointment with a retirement counselor.  At the counseling appointment, you will receive an application packet to complete and return within 60 days. Once a complete application has been received, SDCERS performs a neutral analysis of all relevant medical, personnel, and other information. You will then be scheduled for one or more independent medical evaluations by a physician specializing in the area of medicine appropriate to your claimed injury or illness.  Following the medical evaluation, a recommendation will be made to the Board to approve or deny your application. If there are substantial conflicts in the evidence, your application will be referred to adjudication before a neutral Hearing Officer before the Board decides to either approve or deny your application.

Application processing times vary based on the complexity of the application and level of cooperation from applicants and medical professionals.  In general, SDCERS strives to have recommendations to the Board of Administration within 18 months.

It is not required, but you may choose to be represented by an attorney at your own cost at any time during the application process. SDCERS will have an attorney representing the system at adjudicator hearings on disability matters.

The amount of your disability retirement benefit depends on whether or not you have been granted an industrial or non-industrial disability retirement. The formula used to calculate your benefit may also vary depending on your plan sponsor and job classification. See the Disability Retirement Fact Sheet for a general description of how industrial and non-industrial disability retirement benefits are calculated based on your plan tier. It is also important to note that some or all of an industrial disability retirement benefit is excluded from taxable income, while a non-industrial disability benefit is 100% taxable.

No. SDCERS is not bound by any findings in Workers’ Compensation matters and the eligibility requirements for an industrial disability retirement are different from those for Workers’ Compensation benefits. Even if you have been found eligible for Workers’ Compensation benefits, you must apply separately to SDCERS for a disability retirement.

Yes. If you meet minimum age and service eligibility requirements, you may begin receiving your service retirement benefit while your disability retirement application is being processed.  But keep in mind that you must still prove that your permanent incapacity rendered your retirement necessary. For example, if you have been medically cleared for modified duty and choose to stop working and service retire, you will have to prove that your incapacity required you to retire.

If your application is denied, you may seek reconsideration of the Board action denying your application within 14 days of the date of the Board’s decision. If the Board does not change its decision, you may seek judicial review of the Board’s denial through the filing of a Petition for Writ of Mandamus in the Superior Court.

Yes.  Until you meet the minimum age for service retirement, you must submit a yearly affidavit certifying continued eligibility for the disability retirement benefit. Failure to return the affidavit may result in suspension of your benefit until SDCERS receives the affidavit. Additionally, until you reach the minimum age for service retirement, SDCERS can request a medical re-examination.  After a hearing on the matter, if the Board determines that you are no longer disabled, your disability retirement benefit will be terminated. The termination of your disability retirement benefit does not guarantee that the City, Port, or Airport will return you to your former position. 

The Deferred Retirement Option Plan (“DROP”) is a voluntary program that allows you to continue working for your plan sponsor for up to five years while simultaneously earning a monthly pension benefit. As long as you are still working for your plan sponsor, your monthly pension benefit will accumulate in a separate DROP account and earn interest. Once you actually retire and exit DROP, the money that has accrued in your DROP account will be paid to you, including interest, on top of your monthly pension benefit.

DROP is only available for City of San Diego (“City”) Members hired before July 1, 2005; San Diego Unified Port District (“Port”) Members hired before October 1, 2005; and San Diego County Regional Airport Authority (“Airport”) Members hired on or before October 2, 2006. Also, you must be age and service-eligible to retire before you can enter DROP. Please refer to your Retirement Plan Summary to determine your requirements to service retire.

The Annual Supplemental Benefit is paid from trust fund assets to eligible retirees (or their continuance beneficiary) in qualified years, according to a formula specified in their respective retirement plan. When the fund’s investment earnings are sufficient to qualify in a given year, SDCERS will calculate and pay the Annual Supplemental Benefit to all eligible retirees in November of that year. Survivors of eligible retirees will receive a proportionate share of this benefit.

City Members: To be eligible for the benefit, you must have been hired before July 1, 2005, have accrued at least 10 years of service credit, and be on the retirement payroll for the month of October in the year in which the benefit is paid. A complicated mathematical equation is used to calculate the amount of the Annual Supplemental Benefit, but the maximum amount of this benefit in any eligible year is as follows:

• $75 per year of service credit for retirees who retired on or before December 31, 1971;
• $60 per year of service credit for retirees who retired after December 31, 1971, but on or before October 6, 1980;
• $45 per year of service credit for General Members who retired between January 8, 1982 and June 30, 1985; and
• $30 for each year of service credit for all other Members who were hired on or before June 30, 2005.
   

Port Members: To be eligible for the benefit, you must have been hired before October 1, 2005, be on the retirement payroll for the month of October in the year in which the benefit is paid, and have at least 10 years of service credit if you retired before October 29, 2002, or at least five years of service credit if you retired on or after October 29, 2002. The amount of this benefit in any eligible year is calculated as follows:

• $75 per year of service credit for retirees who retired on or before December 31, 1971;
• $60 per year of service credit for retirees who retired between January 1, 1972 and October 6, 1980;
• $45 per year of service credit for General Members who retired between January 8, 1982 and June 30, 1985; and
• $30 for each year of service credit for all other Members who retired on or after October 7, 1980.

Airport Members: To be eligible for the benefit, you must have been hired on or before October 2, 2006, have at least five years of service credit, and be on the retirement payroll for the month of October in the year in which the benefit is paid. The amount of this benefit in any eligible year is $30 for each year of service credit.
 
NOTE: Reciprocal service credit will not be included in the calculation of the Annual Supplemental Benefit amount, but will be considered for purposes of determining eligibility. See Board Rule 5.70 for more information regarding eligibility for the Annual Supplemental Benefit.

The Corbett benefit is the result of a settlement between the City of San Diego and a group of City Members. Only City retirees who terminated City employment before July 1, 2000 are eligible to receive the annual Corbett benefit. This benefit accrues every month in the form of a 7% increase in the eligible retiree’s monthly pension benefit amount; the total accrued benefit is distributed in a lump sum whenever the Annual Supplemental Benefit is paid. If payment is not made in a given year, the accrued amount will be carried over for distribution in the next year that the Annual Supplemental Benefit is paid.

Every July, SDCERS retirees, active DROP participants, and certain beneficiaries are eligible for a COLA, which is granted based on the annual inflation change reported in the federal government’s Consumer Price Index (“CPI”) for the preceding calendar year. Each July 1st, SDCERS retirees and active DROP participants will receive a COLA increase or decrease based on the CPI, up to a maximum of 2.0%. If there is a COLA decrease, the Member’s retirement benefit will not be reduced below the Member’s base pension amount that they received when they first retired.

The maximum COLA increase for SDCERS retirees is 2.0%. However, if the CPI percentage increase is greater than 2.0%, the excess percentage is added to what is called a “COLA Bank.” A retiree’s COLA Bank accumulates based on their fiscal year of retirement or DROP entry, and each annual retiree group has its own COLA Bank. In future years, if the published COLA is less than 2%, some retirees may still receive the maximum 2% increase if they have enough accumulated in their COLA Bank to make up the difference. So, the amount in the COLA Bank can grow over the years, or it can be reduced or even depleted in years that the CPI is less than 2% and the COLA Bank is used to make up the difference.

When the CPI percentage is less than 2.0%, eligible retirees will still receive a 2% COLA increase if they have accrued enough funds in their respective COLA Banks to make up the difference. However, COLA Banks can never be withdrawn below zero.

The COL Annuity is a one-time increase in a Member’s pension benefit amount, calculated as of their service retirement or DROP entry date. The COL Annuity requires most active Members to contribute a little extra from every paycheck – approximately 16.67% of these Members’ total contribution amount goes towards their COL Annuity. These contributions accrue separately from the Member’s normal and Surviving Spouse contributions, earning annual interest that applies every June 30th at the current discount rate (currently 6.5%). When the Member retires or enters DROP, those extra contributions are annuitized based on their life expectancy, turned into a monthly annuity payment, and added to their monthly pension benefit. The COL Annuity will be paid every month simultaneously with the Member’s pension benefit, and any future COLAs will apply to both the Member’s monthly pension benefit and COL Annuity.

NOTE: City Safety Members who were initially hired by the City after July 31, 2012 will not make COL Annuity contributions while they remain represented by the San Diego Police Officers Association and will not receive the COL Annuity based on that period of employment. All other City Members are required to make COL Annuity contributions while employed with the City and will receive this benefit when they retire.

Also, Port General 2024 Members will not make COL Annuity contributions and therefore will not receive the COL Annuity based on their General 2024 service credit.

The answer to this question depends on several different factors. Generally, your spouse will be entitled to 50% of the retirement benefits you earned while you were married, but it can be much more complicated than that. Please review the Community Property Handbook and provide your attorney with a copy.

Either party in a divorce can file a motion for joinder, which asks the Court to “join” a third party to the proceedings and require that third party to comply with the Court’s orders. A Court cannot order SDCERS to divide pension benefits in a divorce case unless SDCERS has been formally joined to the proceedings.

A Domestic Relations Order (“DRO”) is a special Court order that divides pension benefits in a divorce. These orders are typically separate from the Final Judgment in a divorce because dividing a pension is complicated and many different scenarios and factors must be taken into consideration. SDCERS must be joined to the divorce and receive a DRO before we can divide your pension benefits.

An SDCERS retiree may only return to work for the City, Port, or Airport if there is an emergency requiring their reemployment or if the retiree has skills needed to perform work of limited duration, and even then the retiree may only return to work on a temporary basis (no more than 960 hours per fiscal year, or 720 hours for City retirees returning to work for the City). Even if these conditions are satisfied, there may be additional restrictions as well as tax consequences. Please review SDCERS’ “Returning to Work After Retirement Policy” for more information, which can be found in SDCERS’ Board Charters, Policies, & Rules.

Contact the SDCERS Call Center at (619) 525-3600, or send us a message through the “Contact Us” page on our website if you have questions about your specific circumstances. Please consult a tax professional for any questions about tax penalties related to returning to work after retirement.

Note: All SDCERS retirees, except City retirees returning to work for the City, are bound by PEPRA’s rules regarding returning to work after retirement. Also, if you are a City employee with an Option C Retiree Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) and you return to City employment after retirement, in any capacity, you will be unable to utilize your HRA account during your active employment.

An SDCERS retiree may work for any employer other than the City, Port, or Airport without restriction.

If you return to work for the same employer from which you retired before age 59 ½ and without a Bona Fide Separation from Service (a break in employment for at least 60 days and no prearranged agreement to return to work after retirement), the IRS may impose a 10% early distribution tax penalty on all retirement benefits received by you until you reach age 59 ½ or there has been a Bona Fide Separation from Service.

Before returning to work for the same employer from which you retired, you must have a Bona Fide Separation from Service or attained Normal Retirement Age. Your Normal Retirement Age is a combination of your age and a minimum amount of service credit, and is defined for each plan tier in SDCERS’ Returning to Work After Retirement Policy, which can be found in SDCERS’ Board Charters, Policies, & Rules.

NOTE: Even if you have reached your Normal Retirement Age, all SDCERS retirees are limited in the number of hours they may work annually. 

Note: This is only applicable to eligible City retirees. Port and Airport Members should contact their respective Human Resources Department for information about their health benefits.

CITY OF SAN DIEGO RETIREES ONLY:
All City retirees are eligible to enroll in a sponsored retiree healthcare plan, regardless of whether they receive a healthcare allowance. The City of San Diego Retiree Health Service Center administers the City’s retiree health plans and processes reimbursement requests. If you choose to enroll in a sponsored healthcare plan and do not receive a healthcare allowance, the entire premium will be deducted from your monthly pension payment. If you receive a healthcare allowance through Option A or B, the allowance will be added to your monthly pension payment. Please note that the healthcare allowance can only be used to cover medical insurance premiums for you, the retired Member; expenses such as annual deductibles, dependent coverage, co-payments, prescriptions, and premiums for dental or vision plans are not reimbursable under Options A and B.  

If you retired with the Option C defined contribution plan or the Retiree Medical Trust and you enroll in a sponsored healthcare plan, you must seek reimbursements through your trust provider. Option C and the Retiree Medical Trust will reimburse medical premiums for you and your dependent(s) as well as additional eligible expenses, such as vision and dental plan premiums, co-pays, and deductibles. For detailed information about the healthcare plans and allowances, please refer to the most recent SDCERS Open Enrollment Booklet and plan information, located on the City Retiree Health page.

If you were hired before July 2005, you had to select Option A, B, or C in 2012. If you did not make a selection by the deadline or if you terminate City employment at any time prior to your retirement, you will default to Option C. If you selected Option A or Option B, you began contributing to your retiree healthcare plan on April 1, 2012.

If you were hired between July 1, 2005 and June 30, 2009, OR if you are a City Safety Police Member hired on or after July 1, 2005, you do not have a retiree healthcare benefit through your City employment. However, you will still be eligible to participate in COBRA/CalCOBRA and to enroll in a sponsored retiree health plan.

If you are not a City Safety Police Member and you were hired on or after July 1, 2009, you participate in the Retiree Medical Trust administered by Voya. You contribute 0.25% of your biweekly paycheck, pre-tax, to this trust, and your contributions are matched by the City.

Options A and B are defined benefit health plans, which means you will be eligible to receive an allowance for healthcare premiums, up to a certain amount per year, for your lifetime. Your annual health reimbursement amount runs on a fiscal year calendar, resetting each July 1st, and is determined based on your years of service (including purchased service credit) when you retire.

The reimbursement amounts for Options A and B corresponding to years of service can be found in the most recent SDCERS Open Enrollment Booklet, located on the City Retiree Health page. Option A allowances increase by 2% every July 1st, while the annual allowance for Option B does not. Your health reimbursements will be considered non-taxable income.

If you enroll in a sponsored retiree health plan through SDCERS or SDPEBA (San Diego Public Employee Benefit Association), your premiums will be deducted from your monthly pension payment and you do not need to submit requests for reimbursement or pay the provider directly. However, if you enroll in another health plan, such as private insurance, you are responsible for paying the premiums upfront and submitting requests for reimbursement to the City of San Diego Retiree Health Service Center.

Please note that the healthcare allowance can only be used to cover medical insurance premiums for you, the retired Member - additional expenses such as annual deductibles, dependent coverage, co-payments, prescriptions, and premiums for dental or vision plans are not reimbursable under Option A or Option B.

If you are in Option A or B but leave the City before you retire (i.e., either become a deferred vested member or leave City employment and later return), you will be placed in Option C instead. You will not be entitled to a refund of any of your Option A or B contributions.

Option C is a defined contribution health plan, which means the funds in your Option C trust can be depleted during your lifetime. When you retire, your years of service credit and age determine the funding level of your Option C account. Your Option C account will reimburse medical premiums for you and your dependent(s) as well as eligible expenses (e.g., co-pays), including dental and vision plan premiums. Reimbursements from your Option C account are considered non-taxable income.

PLEASE NOTE: Neither SDCERS nor the City of San Diego Retiree Health Service Center administer your Option C trust account. You will receive an enrollment packet from your trust account administrator within 60 days of funding, which occurs when you become age and service-eligible. The current Option C trust account administrators are as follows:

• Voya for unclassified/unrepresented employees and deferred vested employees – (833) 232-4673, HASinfo@voya.com

• Gallagher/Health Invest IRA for classified/represented employees (except Local 145 members) – 1 (844) 342-5505, www.healthinvesthra.com 

• Vimly Benefit Solutions for Local 145 members – (425) 367-0743 or (844) 353-7839

If you die before using all of the money in your Option C account, the remainder may be used for reimbursements by an eligible beneficiary. Contact your trust administrator for more information.

You contribute 0.25% of your biweekly paycheck, pre-tax, to this trust, and your contributions are matched by the City. You can control how these funds are invested by creating an account with the administrator. Please note SDCERS does not administer this trust. The Retiree Medical Trust is administered by Voya – you can contact them at (833) 232-4673 or HASinfo@voya.com, and access your account at https://www.voya.com/hra.

There is no minimum retirement age to submit claims for qualified healthcare expenses or monthly premiums. As soon as you terminate City employment, you become eligible to submit claims for reimbursements through your online account.

COBRA stands for Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act and it is a federal program. After you terminate City employment, you will automatically receive a COBRA enrollment packet via U.S. mail from WageWorks, the City’s COBRA administrator. You have 60 days from your termination date to enroll in COBRA. By enrolling in COBRA, your City-sponsored healthcare coverage you had while you were working will continue at roughly the same premiums (plus a 2% administrative fee), including dependent(s), vision, and dental plans. You will pay your premiums directly to WageWorks on a monthly basis and you can request reimbursement according to your retiree health reimbursement plan, assuming you are eligible for retiree healthcare benefits. Please contact WageWorks (1-877-722-2667) or visit the City’s website regarding COBRA coverage for more information.

You can participate in COBRA for up to 18 months after you leave the City.  After 18 months, you can enroll in CalCOBRA to extend your City-sponsored healthcare coverage for an additional 18 months. CalCOBRA stands for California Continuation of Benefits Replacement Act. You have 60 days from the last day of COBRA coverage to enroll in CalCOBRA. Unlike COBRA, CalCOBRA is administered through the state and you will pay your premiums directly to your provider. Premiums may differ slightly from what you paid under COBRA, but they are generally close. 

IMPORTANT: If you move out of state, you may lose COBRA/CalCOBRA coverage. The providers of the health plans you can enroll in under COBRA and CalCOBRA are mostly located in California, which means you generally will not be covered by these providers in other states. Please contact your plan provider if you have questions about coverage.

You may become eligible for Medicare when you reach age 65. Please contact the Social Security Administration (1-800-772-1213) to find out if you have enough “credits” to participate in Medicare – those who have less than 40 credits may be able to buy into Medicare Part A. 

Once you are eligible for Medicare, you can participate in a Medicare health plan. In order to enroll in one of the sponsored Medicare plans, you must be enrolled in Medicare Part A and Part B. If you become Medicare-eligible outside of the enrollment period, you may be able to transition to a Medicare plan if one is offered by your existing provider. Please contact your provider for more information.

Also, please note that a Medicare Part D prescription drug plan is already included in all of the sponsored Medicare plans for City retirees. Medicare does not allow you to have more than one Part D plan. Therefore, your entire Medicare plan will be cancelled if you purchase a supplemental Medicare Part D prescription drug plan.

The PPA may allow Safety Members to claim up to a $3,000 tax exemption for healthcare-related expenses. Please refer to IRS Publication 575. If you are a retired City Safety Member that pays monthly health insurance premiums (meaning your healthcare plan is not fully subsidized by SDCERS) and use one of the sponsored plans (Cigna, SCAN Health Plan, Kaiser, or Sharp), you should discuss this exemption with your tax-preparer. It is the Member’s responsibility to claim this exclusion on their personal tax return. SDCERS does not provide any further proof for this exemption and cannot give tax advice.

Your beneficiary(ies) will be eligible to receive one of the following death benefits:

Active Death Benefit – If you die before you are eligible to retire and your death was not work-related, your beneficiary(ies) will receive your employee contributions, with interest, and up to one-half of your Final Compensation.

Industrial Death Benefit – If you die before you are eligible to retire and the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board determines the cause of death was work-related, your surviving spouse is eligible for a lifetime monthly benefit if they are the named beneficiary. If there is no surviving spouse, your minor child(ren) will receive this benefit until they are 18 (or 21 for Port and Airport Members). The annual value of this benefit is approximately one-half of your Final Compensation.

Death While Eligible Benefit – If you are eligible to retire when you die, your surviving spouse is eligible for a lifetime monthly benefit if they are the named beneficiary. If there is no surviving spouse, your minor child(ren) will receive this benefit until they are 18 (or 21 for Port and Airport Members). The monthly value of this benefit is approximately one-half of what you would have received as your monthly pension benefit had you retired at the time of your death.

1) $2,000 retiree death benefit and any other payable monies (e.g., Corbett, Annual Supplemental Benefit, unpaid pension benefit);

2) Balance of your DROP account (either as a lump sum or a monthly annuity), if you participated in DROP and the funds have not already been paid out; and

3) Continuance benefit, if applicable according to your retirement benefit option.

The only death benefit available upon the death of a deferred Member, whether they are vested or non-vested, is the return of the Member’s employee contributions and interest.

A continuance benefit is an option you may select when you retire that allows you to designate a continuance beneficiary who, upon your death, will continue receiving some percentage of your pension benefit for the rest of their life. If you choose a retirement benefit option that allows you to leave a continuance benefit, you may only designate one continuance beneficiary and your monthly benefit may be reduced according to an actuarial estimate. A continuance benefit cannot be paid to an estate or trust. Please note that once you have retired or entered DROP, you may not change your continuance beneficiary designation.

Except for a continuance beneficiary, you can change the beneficiary who will receive your death benefits at any time prior to your death. Once you retire or enter DROP, you cannot change the beneficiary designated to receive your lifetime continuance benefit.

Log in to your Member Portal and click on “Beneficiary Information” in the column on the left. This screen will show you your current beneficiary designations and allow you to revoke and rename any beneficiaries (except for your continuance beneficiary, if applicable).