STANCera

Health Insurance and the Revocable Health Benefit Subsidy- Retired Members

Pre-Retirement Video Clips

Through Benefits Management Technology Inc. (BMTI) we are fortunate to be able to offer to retirees, group plans from PacifiCare and Kaiser with competitive rates and a stipend to help pay for those plans. Vision and Dental plans are also offered.

Tier 1, 2, 4 & 5 members are currently eligible with five full years of service and tier 3 members with 10 full years of service. Service-connected disability retirees have no minimum years of service requirement. Partial years, other public service time and golden handshake time are not used in the service time calculation.

The non-vested Revocable Health Allowance is currently set at $12.33 per year of service up to a maximum of $370.00 per month for 30 years of service. Please note, the Revocable Health Allowance is taxable. In order for StanCERA to remain a qualified plan, the IRS requires that this benefit be taxable income. StanCERA can not deduct payments for non-plan sponsored health insurance. This benefit is perodically reviewed and adjusted, please click on the Revocable Health Benefit Subsidy policy.

Special Cost of Living

The Special COLA is an Ad Hoc benefit and was originally initiated in 1999 and provides additional increases for certain retired members receiving monthly retirement payments who have lost significant amount of purchasing power due to inflation. This is a non-vested benefit that is reviewed on an annual basis.

Burial Allowance

StanCERA offers a one-time lump sum $5,000 burial allowance for the original retiree, providing StanCERA was their last public service. This allowance is not a life insurance policy; it is a taxable benefit to the beneficiary.

Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA)

To protect retiree’s monthly allowances against inflation, the law provides for annual cost-of living adjustments, (COLA). California Government Code mandates that each year, prior to April 1, the Board of Retirement (BOR) will determine whether there has been an increase or decrease in the cost of living, as reflected in the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index (CPI). Click here to learn more about COLA.

Revised 01/11/08