Santa Clara County Retirement Benefits

As Defined By California Public Employees Pension Reform Act :

• Classic Members retirement benefit formula is 2%@55
• New Members retirement benefit formula is 2%@62
• Classic Members hired before 1/9/12 pay 6% of salary toward the required employee contribution.
• Classic Members hired after 1/9/12 pay 7% of salary toward the required employee contribution.
• New Members are required to pay fifty percent of the total normal cost as determined by the annual CalPERS valuation.

For more detailed information regarding CalPERS retirement benefits, visit the Calpers webpage.

Convicted Santa Clara County Sheriff Keeps Retirement Benefits

The former Santa Clara County sheriff is still eligible to receive her retirement benefits, despite being convicted of several felony-equivalent charges in a civil trial last month. Some local leaders say she doesnt deserve it.

Last month, a civil jury found Sheriff Laurie Smith guilty of six counts of corruption and willful misconduct for her part in a pay-to-play scheme. Smith was convicted of doling out concealed carry permits to campaign donors and members of her inner circle, as well as failing to report gifts in exchange for permits. Smith stepped down as the countys top law enforcement officer three days before her conviction. She served in the department for about 50 years.

Due to the unusual circumstances of her conviction, shes eligible for hundreds of thousands of dollars in pension and health care benefitssome of which will be paid by taxpayers. This is because a civil grand jury brought forth Smiths charges, which meant that while the charges and trial were structured like a criminal case, there were no criminal consequences when she was convicted.

Retiree Medical Reimbursement Program:

• Employees who retire from the City with at least ten years of service shall receive reimbursement to help cover retiree single health insurance premiums. The reimbursement maximum includes the PEMHCA minimum.

• Up to age 65, retirees are eligible for reimbursement up to $379/month in 2021

• After age 65, retirees are eligible for reimbursement up to $227/month in 2021

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Benefits For All Administrative Employees

Administrative employees are those represented by SEIU, AFSCME, and TAEA as well as non-represented employees.

Administrative Employees pay a monthly contribution of any amount in excess of the Kaiser Bay Area Family rate under the CalPERS sponsored medical plan.

Administrative employees are covered by a $50,000 basic life insurance policy.

Two Types Of 457 Accounts

• Regular 457: pre-tax Contributions to the plan and earnings on your contributions are exempt from income taxes until you begin to withdraw the money. Typically, you will be in a lower tax bracket when you begin your withdrawals.
• Roth 457: Contributions you make to the plan are taxed before they are contributed. Earnings are exempt from income taxes and distributions are tax free if all distribution requirements are met.

You invest in the plan by authorizing an amount of money that will be automatically deducted from your paycheck. When you receive your paycheck, your contributions are wired to an investment provider and invested in the specific investment vehicles that you have chosen.

For more detailed information regarding 457 Deferred Compensation Plan, visit the MissionSquare Retirement website.

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Benefits Available For Eligible Ihss Independent Providers Include:

Medical Insurancefrom Valley Health Plan The provider is responsible to pay $25 per month for this. This amount is usually deducted from the paycheck. Contact Valley Health Plan Member Services at 885-4760 421-8444) if you have questions about the medical plan.

Dental Insurancefrom Liberty Dental Use only Plan LR100 contracted dentists from Liberty. Co-Payment Schedule is LR-100. Contact Liberty Dental Plan Member Services at 1 703-6999 if you have questions about the dental plan.

Vision Care Insurance Contact Vision Service Plan Member Services at 1 877-7195 if you have questions about the vision plan.NOTICE: Information regarding VSP’s grievance system and how members can send comments to VSP.

FREE bus pass for IHSS Independent Providers!Every working IHSS Provider in Santa Clara County can have a FREESmartPASS. This pass allows travel on VTA buses and light rail trainsoperated by the Valley Transit Authority in SantaClara County. Independent Providers who qualify should call 350-3290 for more information on how to obtain a SmartPASS. Important: You must have your IHSS Provider Photo ID Badge available to show aVTA fare inspector whenever you use the SmartPASS Clipper card.

The SmartPASS will be automatically loaded onto the Clipper card for working IHSS care providers. Continue to use the samecard.

Very Importantthe Information On This Page Is For People Going Through A Divorce Or Attorneys Helping Their Clientsdo Not Call Qdrodesk For Retirement Account Information Unless It Is In Regards To A Divorce Qdrodesk Is A Private Company That Only Helps With The Divorce Process It Is Not Related Or Connected To The Retirement Account Listed On This Page This Page Is Provided For Informational Purposes Only

SANTA CLARA COUNTY MACHINE SHOP EMPLOYERS-IAM PENSION PLAN

SANTA CLARA COUNTY MACHINE SHOP EMPLOYERS-IAM PENSION PLAN is a Defined Benefit Plan providing retirees with a predetermined monthly retirement benefit upon reaching a specific age. The retirement benefit paid to a retiree is typically calculated using a formula which often employs years of credited service under the plan and salary information. The retirement benefit is typically payable to the employee upon attainment of their normal retirement age for the remainder of his/her lifetime. Benefits under this type of plan are often referred to as accrued benefits. This type of plan does not maintain individual accounts for employees.

It is important to remember that under this type of plan, the Alternate Payee is typically not awarded a lump sum cash payment from the Plan. It is usually a requirement of the Plan that the amount awarded to the Alternate Payee be expressed in terms of a monthly benefit payable for either the lifetime of the Participant or the Alternate Payee.

Plan & Company Information:BOARD OF TRUSTEES SANTA CLARA COUNTY MACHINE SHOP EMPLOYERS – IAM

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Additional Benefits Available To Ihss Independent Care Providers:

Santa Clara County Federal Credit Union IHSS Homecare Providers are also eligible to join the Santa Clara County Federal Credit Union. For more information and branch locations, providers should contact the Credit Union directly at: 282-0700 or www.sccfcu.org

The CalSavers Retirement Savings Program is available for IHSS ProvidersCalSavers is an optional retirement program offered by the State ofCalifornia. The program is designed for all Californiaindividuals, including IHSS providers, which allows you to set upautomatic contributions from your bank account into a retirement plan.Enrollment into the program is easily done by phone oronline. Multilingual support and materials are available. To learn moreabout the CalSavers program, download the CalSavers Informational Flyer or visit the CalSavers website.

IHSSIndependent Care Providers are considered self-employed individuals. When applying toCalSavers, you will register as an individual by clicking the “Get Started” button and choosing the I want to signmyself up option. Self-employed individuals will not have an employer accesscode.

CalSaversis administered by the State of California. Santa Clara County IHSS and PublicAuthority Services are unable to assist with account setup. If you needassistance, contact the CalSaversHelp Desk at 650-6918 and mention that you are a self-employedindividual.

Every Month Providers Lose Their Health Insurance For Reasons That Can Be Prevented:

Providersmust be paid for 35 hours each month. It is very important to submityour timesheets on time. Call IHSS at 792-1600 if you are not upto date with your timesheets and paychecks. Public Authority Benefitswill send the provider a letter if he/she is at risk of losinginsurance benefits due to low hours paid. Public Authority Benefits canonly use payroll records to evaluate eligibility so getting paid ontime is important.

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Disability & Industrial Disability Retirement

If your employee has an injury or illness that prevents them from performing their job duties, they may be eligible for disability retirement. The cause of disability doesn’t need to be related to their employment.

If their disability is the result of a job-related illness or injury, and they are a local or state safety member, state peace officer/firefighter, state industrial member, state patrol member, or local miscellaneous member whose employer contracts for this benefit, they may be entitled to an industrial disability retirement.

They should apply for their retirement as soon as they believe they are unable to perform their job due to a disability expected to be permanent or last longer than twelve months. An employer may also file a disability retirement application on behalf of their employee by completing and submitting the Employer-Originated Disability Retirement Application form. To understand employer responsibilities, see Policies & Procedures.

If you suspect fraud, call the Disability Fraud Tip Line.

New Data Suggests Santa Clara County Employee Pensions Salaries Higher Than Reported

Edward Ring of California Policy Center continues his analysis of the ongoing Santa Clara County worker dispute, and reveals that payouts to employees are surprisingly high, causing unavoidable financial trouble for the County Supervisors.

Santa Clara County employees who have worked for 30 years currently collect an average annual pension of $84,349, not including benefits such as employer subsidized retirement health insurance.*

This is an astonishing sum, considering the maximum Social Security benefit only paid for high wage earners once theyve reached the age of 70 is $45,480. For a 62 year old, which is a far more representative comparison, the maximum Social Security benefit is $27,180, less than one-third what the average Santa Clara County employee receives.

It is important to emphasize that using full-career pension averages is the only valid means of comparison to private sector retirement benefits. It is common to read statements from public sector union officials claiming the average pension is only $30,000 per year, or less. But they are including in these averages those recipients who only worked a few years, and barely vested their pensions. This is an inaccurate basis for comparison, because people who have only worked a few years in the public sector would presumably have spent their other working years in the private sector, earning social security and saving what they can in a 401K plan like the rest of us.

Read the whole thing here.

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Insurance Does Not Stop Right Away When The Provider Stops Working:

Ifthe provider stops working or the paid hours drops below 35/month forany reason he/she will not lose insurance coverage right away. It willcontinue for at least one month and Public Authority Benefits willnotify him/her by letter explaining when the insurance will stop. Theprovider is responsible to pay the $25 per month portion of theinsurance premium until the insurance stops. For questions or more information, call Public AuthorityBenefits at 350-3290.

Beginningin 2014, the federal Affordable Care Act requires individuals tohave health insurance or potentially pay a penalty for noncompliance.Individuals will be required to maintain minimum essential coverage forthemselves and their dependents. Some individuals will be exempt fromthe mandate and the penalty, while others may receive financialassistance to help them pay for the cost of health insurance coverageand the costs associated with using health care services. Forindividuals who do not have health coverage, beginning 2016 and after, the penalty is $695 per person or up to 2.5percent of income. If you or your family members are uninsured, you mayqualify for affordable health coverage. Information about options toobtain health coverage is available at:

Find Out What’s Happening In Campbellwith Free Real

Last month, a civil jury found Sheriff Laurie Smith guilty of six counts of corruption and willful misconduct for her part in a pay-to-play scheme. Smith was convicted of doling out concealed carry permits to campaign donors and members of her inner circle, as well as failing to report gifts in exchange for permits. Smith stepped down as the countys top law enforcement officer three days before her conviction. She served in the department for about 50 years.

Due to the unusual circumstances of her conviction, shes eligible for hundreds of thousands of dollars in pension and health care benefitssome of which will be paid by taxpayers. This is because a civil grand jury brought forth Smiths charges, which meant that while the charges and trial were structured like a criminal case, there were no criminal consequences when she was convicted.

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Can I Increase Or Decrease My Contribution

Yes. You just need to complete an Enrollment/Change Form to increase or decrease your deduction from your paycheck. Your change will take effect the first of the month following receipt of the form by the VTA Human Resources Department, unless you specify a later date. The Enrollment/Change Form can be obtained from the VTA Human Resources Department, or from your division.