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Index
Overview
San Diego City Schools, in collaboration with all of the district's employee groups, is offering eligible employees a Supplemental Early Retirement Plan (SERP). The plan is being offered to reward long-time employees for their dedication to San Diego's students and to minimize the number of employee who could be laid off as a result of the budget situation.
Participation in the plan is completely voluntary. Retirement is a fiscal, personal and life-changing decision. Employees are encouraged to seek guidance and advice from their families, tax consultant, attorney, accountant or other advisors. The district and employee groups will not provide tax, accounting or legal advice.
The plan to offer SERP to employees was approved by the Board of Education on February 4, 2003. Click here to view the Draft Plan Description.
Eligibility
Who is eligible to participate in SERP?
| • | Certificated Employees represented by the California State Teachers' Retirement System (STRS). (e.g., administrators, teachers, counselors, nurses, etc.)
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| • | Classified Employees represented by the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS). (e.g., instructional assistants, clerks, custodians, etc.)
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Plan Information
The basic incentive package provides an addition 7 percent of final pay. The offer is entirely voluntary; however, in order to qualifty for the incentive package, employees must be employed by the district as of February 4, 2003. In addition, they must be eligible for retirement under the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) or the State Teachers' Retirement System (STRS) by August 31, 2003.
Again, this is a supplementary retirement plan and should not be confused with the state retirement plans PERS and STERS.
Participating certifiateded non-management employees resign from district employment after completing the 2002-03 school year effective no later than July 31, 2003. However, employees are not required to actually retire. They may choose to seek employment at another district or other employer.
View Supplemental Early Retirement Plan (SERP) Fact Sheet.
View the SERP Plan Document. New!
Benefit Options
There are three options for employees to choose from in terms of benefit payments.
- Monthly cash payments equal to 1/12th of 7 percent of final pay for the participant's lifetime.
Joint and Survivor - reduced joint and survivor monthly payment paid for the participant's lifetime and beneficiary's lifetime.
- Higher fixed, periodic payments - based on the present value of the unmodified benefit, paid monthly for a fixed number of years. These options are guaranteed to pay out for the specified period.
Key Dates
| February 4 | Board of Education approves plan to offer SERP to employees | ||||||||||||
| February 28 | Employees aged 50 or more begin to receive information via U.S. mail to their home address directly from PARS | ||||||||||||
| March 10 - 27 | A series of 28 meetings are scheduled at various times of the day and evening at various locations. Meetings are grouped for classified and certificated staff separately, and eligible employees will be invited to specific meetings to avoid overcrowding. Two staff members from Human Resources and a staff member from Benefits will be at each meeting. See Meeting Notices for additional information. | ||||||||||||
| April 15 - 24 | Employee Enrollment Workshops held
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| April 25 | Enrollment window closes | ||||||||||||
| May 30 | District notifies whether plan goes forward based on participation | ||||||||||||
| July 31 | Employee resignations from the district effective (certificated non-management employees resign after completing 2002-03 school year. All other employees resign no later than July 31, 2003) | ||||||||||||
| August 1 | Benefits payments start |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is the Supplementary Early Retirement Plan (SERP)? The SERP is the early retirement incentive plan the District is offering to eligible employees for the 2002-03 school year only. Who is PARS/Phase II Systems? PARS, Public Agency Retirement System, is a 401(a) multiple employer trust through which the PARS SERP is offered. Phase II Systems is the third party trust administrator company hired by the District to administer the PARS SERP. What do I need to do to enroll in the SERP? To enroll in the SERP, review the enclosed enrollment packet and submit the required enrollment materials and Letter of Resignation to PARS before the enrollment deadline of April 25, 2003. Do I need to complete the 2002-03 school year? You must resign from District service effective no later than July 31, 2003. Employees other than Certificated Non-Management employees may resign on any date they choose after February 4, 2003 and are not required to complete the 2002-03 school year. Certificated Non-Management employees are required to complete the 2002-03 school year. What is the difference between resignation and retirement? Your District Resignation Date is your last working day at the District, effective no later than July 31, 2003 (Certificated Non-Management employees must complete the 2002-03 school year). Your STRS/PERS Retirement Date is the day you apply for retirement under STRS/PERS. If you retire under STRS/PERS, your STRS/PERS retirement date can be no sooner than the day after your District Resignation Date. Am I required to retire under STRS/PERS? You are not required to retire under STRS/PERS but you must be eligible to retire under STRS/PERS as of August 31, 2003. The requirement for retirement under STRS is 55 years of age with 5 years of STRS service or 50 years of age with 30 years of STRS service. The requirement under PERS is 50 years of age with 5 years of PERS service. Since you are not required to retire, you may seek employment at another district or another employer. How is my SERP benefit calculated? The basic, unmodified lifetime benefit under the SERP equals 7% of Final Pay paid to you in 12 monthly payments (Final Pay x 7% / 12). Final Pay is your salary placement on the 2002-03 Salary Schedule multiplied by your FTE. What other options are available to me under the SERP? In addition to the lifetime benefit, you may take your SERP benefit as a Joint-and-100% Survivor Benefit or as fixed monthly payments, ranging from 5 to 15 years. How is Final Pay determined if I am on a Leave of Absence? If you are on a Leave of Absence, Final Pay is your salary placement on the 2002-03 Salary Schedule in the classification you would be in if you returned to regular status, multiplied by the appropriate FTE. How is Final Pay determined if I am on a reduced workload? If you are on a reduced workload, Final Pay is your salary placement on the 2002-03 Salary Schedule multiplied by your current FTE. Which SERP option is the "best" option? All SERP options are actuarially equivalent. This means that it will cost the District the same amount of money to provide the benefit, whether you choose Option 1 or Option 15. Therefore, there is no one "best" option. What is the minimum participation requirement? The minimum participation requirement for the SERP to go forward is 467 Certificated Non-Management employees. If the minimum is not met, the District will notify you on or before May 30, 2003 if the SERP will go forward based on the number that have enrolled or if the plan is withdrawn altogether. If I enroll in the SERP by April 25, 2003, can I rescind my participation in the plan after that date? If you submit your PARS enrollment forms and Letter of Resignation to PARS by the deadline date, your participation is locked in if the plan goes forward. If the plan does not go forward, all resignations are automatically rescinded. Can I change my choice of option after April 25, 2003? No, you cannot change your SERP option choice after the April 25, 2003 deadline. If I participate in the SERP, can I return to work for the District? If you enroll in the SERP and begin receiving benefits under the plan, you will forfeit any future SERP benefits if you become re-employed by the District in any manner other than: 1) a Substitute or Hourly employee as defined by the District; 2) a Professional Expert as defined by the District; or 3) a Consultant as defined by the District. When will I receive my first SERP benefit? Your first SERP benefit will be made to you August 1, 2003. What is deadline to enroll in the SERP? The enrollment deadline is April 25, 2003. Will the SERP be offered again? The SERP benefit is a benefit paid for by the District and is offered for this school year only. It is a one-time offering and there is no guarantee that the plan will be offered again. If I have any questions, where do I call? Please contact the PARS Plan Enrollments Department at (800) 731-7884 with any questions. You may also obtain information regarding the plan at www.sandi.net/serp. I am a Charter School Employee, am I eligible? No. Even if you are a District employee employed at a Charter School, you are not eligible for this plan. The District, not the Charter Schools are offering and paying for this plan. If I am a teacher, and I resign before the end of the school year, do I have to rescind and complete the school year in order to be eligible? Yes. Eligibility is based upon completing the school year for certificated non-management staff. If I receive a layoff notice, would my resignation date for the SERP be the same as the effective date of a layoff? If you receive a layoff notice and you plan to take the early retirement incentive instead and you teach a traditional schedule, then your resignation date should be June 30, 2003. If you receive a layoff notice and you plan to take the early retirement incentive and you teach on a year round calendar, then you resignation date should be July 31, 2003 so that you can complete the school year. |
Meeting Notices
| • | PARS/SERP Walk-in Workshops New! |
| • | CalSTRS Financial Education Program Workshops |
| • | Retirement Planning Workshops Offered |
Retiree Health Benefits
Retired employees may continue to participate in the districts benefits program on a self-pay basis. For retirees who meet specified requirements, the District will make a contribution towards the cost of medical coverage. For complete information, including the current year's cost (through December 31, 2003) the plans in which you are enrolled, please review the Summary of Benefits Continuation Programs for Retirees, provided by the Employee Benefits department.
Reports Presented to Board of Education
05/09/03
| • | SERP Participation Summary |
02/25/03
| • | Agenda item E.10.f: Ratification of Agreement, effective February 1, 2003 through January 31, 2008, with Phase II Systems for the administrative management of the District’s Supplemental Retirement Plan (District Contract No. 23-113-24PS). |
02/04/03
| • | Agenda item E.10.j: Resolution in the Matter of Authorizing the District to Provide a Supplementary Retirement Plan to Eligible Employees. (02/04/03) |
Related Links
California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS)
The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) provides retirement and health benefit services to more than 1.3 million members and nearly 2,500 employers. Its membership consists of active, inactive and retired members from the State, school districts and local public agencies.
California State Teachers' Retirement System (STRS)
The California State Teachers' Retirement System is administered by a 12-member Teachers' Retirement Board. The Teachers' Retirement board sets policy and makes rules for the System and is responsible for ensuring that benefits are paid by the System in accordance with law.
Public Agency Retirement System (PARS)
The Public Agency Retirement System (PARS) includes 225+ public agencies in California and Texas - cities, school districts, colleges, counties and special districts. Its mission is to provide greater economies of scale to Member Agencies, more satisfying retirement options to their employees, and maximum security and control to both.
Contact Information for Employee Groups
Administrators Association of San Diego (AASD)
4312 Park Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92103
(619) 295-2118
Email: AASD1@aol.com or AASD2@aol.com
San Diego City Schools Police Officers Association (POA)
PO Box 3009
San Diego, CA 92163-3009
(619) 287-7253
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