RETIREMENT ASSOCIATION SYSTEMWIDE INFORMATION

The following information deals with the Retirement Association\'s history, composition, structure and benefits pertaining to all members.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Your 1937 Act retirement benefits are a significant part of your benefits package as an employee and as such we strongly recommend that you and your beneficiaries become thoroughly aware of the provisions of the retirement system and keep this booklet with other important personal records.

Statements in this booklet are general in nature and grossly simplified. The final determination of any retirement issue is governed by administrative decisions made pursuant to pertinent Federal and State laws and both Board of Supervisors and the Board of Retirement actions and Bylaws.

BRIEF HISTORY

Date	Event
July 1, 1948	Board of Supervisors established the retirement system
May 1, 1958 (Eff 01/01/56)	Miscellaneous members\' integration with Social Security retroactive to January 1, 1956
Year 1960 (Eff 01/01/56)	Safety members\' integration with Social Security retroactive to January 1, 1956
January 1, 1970	Effective date of maximum 3% cost-of-living adjustment for retirees\' allowances
January 1, 1971	Fixed Formula and \"Safety Member\" provisions adopted
September 1, 1971	Final average salary based on member\'s highest 12 months salary (instead of highest 36 months)
March, 1973	Minimum retirement age lowered to 50 (from 55)
May 8, 1973	Death Benefit for Retirees was established
June 19, 1973	Members allowed to add other public service credit
July 1, 1974	Board of Supervisors\' adopts higher Miscellaneous member benefits of Government Code Section 31676.12 (Tier 1 - FAS based on 12 months)
December 1, 1975	County begins paying one-half of members\' contributions as an employer contribution
September 8, 1978	Survivor benefits extended to children as well as surviving spouses
June 8, 1977	Employees with 30 years of service cease to make member contributions providing the member was a member on March 7, 1973 and remained inmembership continuously until credited with 30 years\' service.  Due to the County\'s payment of 1/2 of member\'s contributions - 30 year members receive additional pay.
July 1, 1980	Tier 2 retirement plan implemented (FAS based on 36 months, members pay full rates)
April, 1986	Elective Tier 3 retirement plan implemented, miscellaneous members only, lower benefit, no member contribution (FAS based on 36 months)
January 1, 1990	New hires are subject to IRS Code Section 415 limits; Probation Officers became Safety Members
July 1, 1990	Managers with reciprocity allowed into Tier 1 if they had higher benefits in the preceding reciprocal system
September 1, 1990	Probation Officers are Misc. members for 3 years before becoming Safety members (Repealed May 13, 1998)
January 4, 1997	Group Supervisors are Misc. members for 3 years before becoming Safety members (Repealed May 13, 1998)
January 7, 1997	Management and Confidential members can convert sick leave accrued above employee\'s individual maximum to service credit on an hour for hour basis upon retirement.
October 1, 1997	Effective date of increased final average compensation pursuant to Ventura County Deputy Sheriff\'s Association vs. Board of Retirement Ventura County Employees\' Retirement Association decision.
January 31, 1998	Effective date of members eligible to re-etablish Tier 1 service through redeposit in accordance with Garry Aquilino et al. vs. Marin County Employees\' Retirement Association et al. decision
May 13, 1998	Group Supervisors, Senior Group Supervisors, Deputy Probation Officer or Supervision Probation Officers shall become a safety member on the first day of entrance into service.
July 8, 1998	50th Anniversary Celebration of the forming of the Stanislaus County Employees\' Retirement Association
August 31, 1998	Effective date of Tier 1 reciprocal benefits based on the Sharon Lear et al. vs. Board of Retirement of the San Diego County Employees\' Retirement Association et al. decision
January 1, 1999	Retiree Health Insurance Stipend of a 5% maximum per year of employer service (up to a maximum of 20 years) paid per month; Raised retiree death benefit from $1,000 to $5,000; Retiree ad hoc Special COLA paid (reviewed annually)
March 9, 2002	Tier 1 enhanced to Tier 4 for active County members; Tier 2 enhanced to Tier 5 for active County members; Tiers 1, 2, 3 & 4 closed to new hires; Safety Member Retirement, commonly known as \"3% at 50\" implemented; (Government Code Section 31664.1) Miscellaneous Member Retirement, commonly known as \"2% at 55\" implemented; (Government Code Section 31676.14)
March 9, 2002	Ninety day opt in window for Tiers 1, 2 & 3 members to the applicable enhanced Tiers 4 or 5.  Tier 3 members have the option to convert prior service to the enhanced benefit at the employee\'s expense.
December 17, 2002	All members with 30 years of service, regardles of date of hire, cease to make contributions.

BENEFIT ORIGINATION

The retirement benefits described on this website originate from California State law as approved by the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors through resolution, memorandum of understanding with employee bargaining units or other action. These other documents govern your retirement benefits.

The retirement system is self-funded and unique. No other California county has exactly the same retirement system that we enjoy as members of the Stanislaus County Employees\' Retirement Association.

All of the retirement plans administered by the StanCERA are DEFINED BENEFIT plans. Defined benefit plans are based on criteria other than your contributions and accrued interest. Our retirement plans are all based on three factors: your final average salary, your length of service and your age. All three factors are multiplied together with the result that the higher your salary is, the longer you serve and the older you are the greater your retirement allowance will be.

MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION

The California State legislature realized that managing retirement benefits would require a specialized board. Therefore the State mandated that the management of the retirement system be directed by a board consisting of elected and appointed people. The Retirement board is comprised of nine members. The seat designations, manner of joining and terms are listed below:

Seat No.	Manner in Joining Board	Term
1	Stanislaus County Treasurer Ex-officio	Ex-officio
2	Employee elected by Misc. Members	3 years
3	Employee elected by Misc. Members	3 years
4	Appointed by the Board of Supervisors	3 years
5	Appointed by the Board of Supervisors	3 years
6	Appointed by the Board of Supervisors	3 years
7	Employee elected by Safety Members	3 years
	Alternate elected by Safety Members	3 years
8	Retiree elected by retirees	3 years
	Alternate elected by retirees	3 years
9	Appointed by the Board of Supervisors	3 years

The Board of Retirement sets policy for operation of the Retirement Association, makes determinations for disability retirement benefits, recommends contribution rates based on actuarial studies, controls the investment of assets and authorizes the disbursement of Association funds.

The Board of Retirement meets on the second Wednesday and the fourth Tuesday of each month at 2:00 p.m. in the Stanislaus County Administration Building 1010 10th Street, Room 2008, Modesto. Special meetings or changes to the above schedule can be made by the Board or its Chairperson. The meetings are open to the public.

Day to day administration of membership counseling, information gathering and accounting for Retirement Association assets is led by the Administrator whose staff will process your applications for retirement, refunds, deferred retirement, reciprocity, benefit payments and retirement questions.

MEMBERSHIP

All employees hired into full-time classifications of Stanislaus County, the City of Ceres, Stanislaus County Superior Court, East Side Mosquito Abatement District, Keyes Community Service District, Salida Sanitary District, StanCOG, and Hills Ferry Cemetery District (all employer members of the Retirement Association) are automatically members of the Retirement Association. Employees hired before October 1, 1988 became members on the first of the calendar month following their date of hire. Employees hired on or after October 1, 1988 become members on the date of hire.

Membership may be waived if you are age 60 or older upon hire or if you have been elected to your position in the County. Your particular membership category can be found below:

Category Definition

Membership Type	Qualifications
Misc. Tier 1	Non-safety employees hired before 7-1-80 who did not elect Tier 3 Managers with reciprocity hired between 7-1-80 and 6-30-90
	Managers with reciprocity hired on or after 7-1-90 with the same or higher benefits from the preceding reciprocal system
Misc. Tier 2	Non-safety employees hired on or after 7-1-80 who did not elect Tier 3
	Probation Officers hired on or after 9-1-90 with less than 3 years of service as a Probation Officer
Misc. Tier 3	Non-safety eligible employees who elected in 1986 or shortly after their original hire date to be covered by the Tier 3 retirement plan (Closed to New Hires on March 9, 2002)
	Safety-eligible employees who elected to be covered by the Tier 3 plan and have not redeposited contributions to reinstate membership in Tier 1 or 2
Safety Tier 1	Employees engaged in active law enforcement or fire suppression hired before 7-1-80 Probation officers actively employed between January 1, 1990 and August 31, 1990 whose original date of hire was before 7-1-80
Safety Tier 2	Employees engaged in active law enforcement or fire suppression hired on or after 7-1-80
	Probation officers actively employed between January 1, 1990 and August 31, 1990 whose original date of hire was on or after 7-1-80
	Probation Officers hired on or after 9-1-90 who have completed 3 years of service as Probation Officers
Tier 4	Active Misc. and Safety employees whose service commenced on or before June 30, 1980 and opted in.*
Tier 5	Active Misc. and Safety employees whose service commenced on and after July 1, 1980*

*  City of Ceres -
       Effective 07-01-04 (Department Heads, Mid-Managers (non-safety) & Supervisors/Confidential
       Effective 01-01-05 (Mid-Managers (safety), Police & Firefighters Association & General members
    East Side Mosquito Abatement District -
       Effective for only regular full-time current employees active on or after 09-01-02
    Hills Ferry Cemetery District -
       Effective with the payroll beginning 04-01-03
    Keyes Community Services District - 
       To date has not adopted the enhanced benefits
    Salida Sanitary District -
       Effective the first full pay period beginning on 09-01-02
    Stanislaus Council of Governments (StanCOG) -
       Effective the first full pay period beginning on 08-10-02
    Stanislaus County Courts -
      Effective the first full pay period beginning 03-23-02

INTEGRATION WITH SOCIAL SECURITY

All members of the Retirement Association are now covered under both the County Employees Retirement Act of 1937 (\"the 1937 Act\") and the Federal Social Security program. Our retirement system is integrated with Social Security, which means that our plans\' benefits and contributions are reduced or offset in acknowledgement that you are covered under both systems.

All Tier 1, 2, 4 and 5 members contribute 1/3 less on the first $350 per month ($161.54 biweekly) of pay and receive 1/3 less benefits on the first $350 per month of final compensation used for the calculation of the retirement allowance. Tier 3 members have a complete offset of their retirement benefits based on a pro rata share of years of service.

Government Code Section 31810 allows members to receive an augmented Retirement Association allowance before age 62 and a reduced allowance after age 62 to coordinate benefits with Social Security. Questions regarding Social Security benefits, applications and eligibility should be directed to a Social Security office. In Modesto the office is located at 1521 N Carpenter Road, telephone (209) 523-2670 or 1-800-234-5772 (no charge to calling party). StanCERA does not have the expertise to answer questions or the authority to resolve any problems which arise regarding your Social Security benefits.

ENROLLMENT

When you are hired into a permanent position with benefits, you complete an enrollment questionnaire which contains a lot of pertinent information needed for retirement benefit administration. You will need to also supply some proof of birth (normally a photocopy of your birth certificate) and if you are hired on or after January 1, 1990, you will need to read and sign a notice concerning Internal Revenue Service Code Section 415 relating to limitations on retirement benefits as imposed by the Federal government.

BENEFICIARY DESIGNATION WHILE EMPLOYED

One of the important items on your enrollment forms is the designation of your beneficiary.  California Community Property law requires that a surviving spouse, California State registered domestic partner or minor children supercede any other named beneficiary.  California law also requires notification to the current spouse/domestic partner of the election you have made regarding your StanCERA account and the appropriate signatures are required when selecting or changing your beneficiaries.

YOUR BENEFICIARY DESIGNATION IS IMPORTANT, YOU MAY BE ELIGIBLE TO HAVE BENEFITS PAID TO YOUR BENEFICIARIES IF YOU SHOULD DIE WHILE YOU ARE STILL EMPLOYED.

PLEASE INSURE THAT YOU UPDATE AND MAINTAIN A CORRECT BENEFICIARY ON FILE WITH THE RETIREMENT DIVISION AT ALL TIMES.

RECIPROCITY

Reciprocity is the condition of multiple California Public Retirement Plan benefit coordination.  When you leave employment from one retirement system and begin employment with another system that has reciprocal agreements (within a 6-month period) and you do not withdraw your funds from the previous system, you establish reciprocity.  Reciprocity is intended to encourage a career in public service by maintaining and/or enhancing some retirement benefits for members.

Reciprocal benefits include lower contribution rates and the use of the higher salary from either system to calculate your retirement allowance. You may also use the years in both systems towards vesting requirements (5 years for Tiers 1, 2, 4 and 5, 10 years for Tier 3).  When calculating actual retirement benefits, each system will use its own unique formula with the years of service within its own system. You cannot \"double-up\" your years of service in one system for the purpose of receiving retirement benefits from that system.

PLEASE DO NOT ASSUME THAT YOUR STATUS UPON TERMINATION IS AUTOMATICALLY KNOWN OR GIVEN.  YOU MUST DECIDE WHAT YOU WANT TO DO WITH YOUR RETIREMENT BENEFITS UPON TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT AND FILE THE APPROPRIATE FORM WITH THE RETIREMENT ASSOCIATION.

The 1937 Act County Retirement Systems are listed below:

Alameda, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Luis Obispo, Contra Costa, San Bernardino, San Mateo, Fresno, Mendocino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Marin Imperial, Merced, San Francisco, Sonoma, Kern, Orange, San Joaquin, Tulare, Ventura.

We are also reciprocal with the California Public Employees\' Retirement System (PERS), the County of San Luis Obispo, and the City and County of San Francisco and other systems.