General Information

Q: I’m an active/deferred member. Can I register for a member portal account?

A: Yes, you can now go to memberportal.sdcera.org and click “Register Account” to create a member portal account. You will have to use a personal email address – you won’t be able to use your work email.

Q: I want to change my name in your system. How do I do that?

A: If you’re an active member, you will have to change your name through your employer. Your employer sends SDCERA updated information about all employees every two weeks, so you may have to wait up to a month to see the change in the Member Portal.

If you are a deferred or retired member, you can submit a name change form and required supporting documentation to SDCERA. Once the form has been processed, your new name will show up in the Member Portal.

Q: I’m a new employee. Why can’t I sign up for the Member Portal?

A: You become an SDCERA member about a month after you are hired on by your employer. There’s a delay in the time it takes to get your employment information from your employer. You should be able to register for a portal account a month after your hire date.

My Membership Page

Membership Information Section

Q: What is the vesting requirement?

A: To become vested, you must have five years of SDCERA service credit or five years of combined SDCERA and reciprocal service credit. Once you are vested, you are eligible to retire at the earliest retirement age based on your classification and tier.

Q: What’s the SDCERA entry date?

A: The date you became an SDCERA member, which is usually about a month after your first day of work with an SDCERA employer.

Q: Why is my SDCERA entry age different from the age I was when I started at the County/Superior Court?

A: You may have established reciprocity, so your entry age in the portal will show how old you were when you started at your reciprocal agency.

Q: Is my entry age rounded?

A: Yes, if a member is 29 years, 6 months and 0 days old (or anything under that) on their entry date, we round down to 29. If a member is 29 years, 6 months and 1 day old (or anything over that) on their entry date, we round up.

Q: Why is my member status inactive?

A: You had a period of active membership, but you are currently working in an hourly position that is ineligible for SDCERA membership.

Pension Plan Summary Section

Q: What’s included in my service credit?

A: Service credit is generally the number of years you have worked for an SDCERA employer; overtime hours and periods of leave without pay do not count toward service credit.

Q: What is final average compensation?

A: Your pension is based on your highest final average monthly compensation (FAC) that you earned during your career with an SDCERA employer. For Tier 1 and A members, SDCERA uses your highest one year of pay (26 consecutive pay periods) to calculate your FAC. For Tier B, C, and D members, SDCERA uses your highest three years of pay (78 consecutive pay periods) to calculate your FAC. If you are a high-wage earner, your FAC may be subject to the maximum compensation limit.

In addition to base pay, many pay categories count toward your final average compensation. Refer to the earnings categories chart for Tier I, Tier A and Tier B Members or the earnings categories chart for Tier C and Tier D Members for a list of included pay categories depending on your tier. Overtime and terminal pay (such as vacation cash out) are excluded when determining final average compensation.

Q: What’s this earliest retirement information based on?

A: When you can retire depends on what classification and tier you’re in. That section of the member portal shows the earliest date and age you will be eligible to retire. The service credit is a projection that shows what credit you will have earned if you work up to that date. The benefit amount shows what you’ll get as a pension if you work until that date.

Q: What’s the earliest retirement benefit?

A: It’s your monthly pension amount if you retire on your earliest retirement date. The amount is for the unmodified retirement option only and is based on your projected service credit and projected FAC.

If you are an active member on leave without pay, or if you are a deferred or inactive member, your service credit and FAC will not be projected to your earliest retirement date. It will be based on the current service credit and FAC data that SDCERA has on file.

Q: What’s this maximum retirement information based on?

A: It’s based on the date and age at which your retirement age factor will be maximized, and your pension amount can only grow through increases to your service credit and/or FAC.

Q: What’s the maximum retirement benefit?

A: Your monthly pension amount if you retire on your maximum retirement date. The amount is for the unmodified retirement option only and is based on your projected service credit and projected FAC.

If you are an active member on leave without pay, or if you are a deferred or inactive member, your service credit and FAC will not be projected to your maximum retirement date. It will be based on the current service credit and FAC data that SDCERA has on file.

Contribution Information Section

Q: What are pre-tax contributions?

A: The total of your member contributions deducted from biweekly paycheck before taxes. Pre-tax contributions started after Jan. 1, 1997.

This amount may also include service purchases that were paid via a rollover or transfer from a qualified retirement plan. You can only withdraw your contributions and accumulated interest if you terminate your employment. If you do, you forfeit your right to a future lifetime monthly pension. You cannot borrow from your contribution account.

Q: What are post-tax contributions?

A: The total of your member contributions deducted from biweekly paycheck after taxes. You will see post-tax contributions if you contributed to SDCERA before Jan. 1, 1997, if you had a service purchase that was paid via payroll deductions or personal check, or if you had injury leave from a worker’s compensation injury.

This amount may also include service purchases that were paid via payroll deductions or personal check. You can only withdraw your contributions and accumulated interest if you terminate your employment. If you do, you forfeit your right to a future lifetime monthly pension. You cannot borrow from your contribution account.

Q: What’s this interest on member contributions?

A: Your member contributions earn interest on June 30 and December 31 of each year. The interest crediting rate is based on the actual earnings rate of the pension fund for that six-month period or half the assumed rate of return, whichever is lower (the interest rate applied to your contributions cannot be less than zero). You can only withdraw your contributions and accumulated interest if you terminate your employment. If you do, you forfeit your right to a future lifetime monthly pension. You cannot borrow from your contribution account.

Q: What’s my member contribution rate?

A: It’s the rate applied to your retirement-eligible earnings to determine your biweekly contributions. Contributions are mandatory and are based on your classification and tier.

Q: Can I change my contribution rate?

A: No, your contribution rate cannot be changed.

Q: Does my employer contribute to my pension?

A: Your employer also makes contributions to fund your future pension benefit. However, employer-paid contributions are not refundable, so they are not listed in the portal.

Beneficiary Section

Q: I have a beneficiary. Why is he/she not listed in the portal?

A: You may need to submit a beneficiary designation form to SDCERA.

Forms Page

Change of Address Form (only available to retired and deferred members)

Q: I submitted a change of address, but after I clicked submit, my old address still shows up in the form. What’s up?

A: It takes about two days for the information that you sent to be stored in our records and to show up in the member portal. Check your account again in two days to confirm the change was submitted.

Q: Why does it take so long for my address to be updated?

A: Once your address change is submitted, it goes through a verification process that takes time to ensure the data is correctly inputted into our system of record.

Q: What happens if I’m moving out of California?

A: If you are moving from California to another state, SDCERA will stop withholding California state taxes.

Pension Verification Statements (only available to retirees)

Q: What is a pension verification statement?

A: Your bank or another institution may need documentation of your income. SDCERA has made that documentation easy to access with on-demand pension verification statements. It will show your name, address and monthly pension amount before taxes.

Contribution Verification Statements (only available to active/deferred members)

Q: What is a contribution verification statement?

A: Your bank or another institution may need documentation of your income. You may want documentation of your pension contributions, so SDCERA has made it easy to access with on-demand pension verification statements. It will show your name, address and total contributions on deposit with SDCERA. However, your contributions may only be withdrawn if you terminate employment, and it is not possible to borrow against SDCERA contributions. If you choose to withdraw contributions, you will not be eligible to receive a lifetime retirement benefit. Employer-paid contributions may not be withdrawn at any time.

My Account Page

Q: I recently changed my address, but the portal shows my old address. How do I change it?

A: If you are a deferred or retired member, you can submit a change of address request from the Forms page in the Member Portal. The change will take at least two days to show up in the portal.