SamCERA Election Results (06/25/2009)
An election was conducted in June to fill two seats and an alternate trustee position on the Board of Retirement. Here are the results.

Second Member (General)
Al David, 563 votes, 59%
Denise Spiller, 390 votes, 41%

Seventh Member (Safety)
David Spinello, 96 votes, 39%
D.J. Wozniak, 91 votes, 37%
Alma Salas, 62 votes, 25%

Congratulations to Al David, Alma Salas and David Spinello. Our sincere thanks to D.J. Wozniak for his three years of service on the board.

Alma will begin a new term as the Seventh Member Alternate. She is now entering her ninth year. Her new term will expire June 30, 2012. Al David's and David Spinello's new terms will also expire on that date. Al was elected only one year ago to complete the unexpired term of Paul Hackleman.

March 2009 SamCERA Times Newsletters (03/31/2009)
The March 2009 member newsletters for both retiree's and active members have been posted in the Newsletters section of the website.

Retiree Newsletter (PDF)

Active Newsletter (HTML)

SamCERA’s Financial Education Program (03/05/2009)

SamCERA has partnered with Financial Knowledge Network to provide financial education to members. Financial Knowledge Network is well known and respected throughout the industry for providing ‘conflict free’ education. This means the instructors will not offer to sell financial products or their services to students of their classes. Both SamCERA and Financial Knowledge Network believe that this approach eliminates the stress on all parties that is very often a barrier to learning.

Throughout 2009, classes will be offered in various topics such as estate planning, tax planning, selecting stocks, and managing your own portfolio. For a complete listing of course offerings, dates and times and course descriptions, log in to the Learning Management System (LMS)

Brochure May '09 (JPG)

Register

2009 COLA Increase (02/11/2009)
Effective April 2009, the 2009 COLA increase will be 3% for most retirees.

2009 COLA

Purchase Request Deadlines (01/14/2009)
Mar 20th - Request PARS to send funds

May 21st - Last request taken

Jun 15th - All funds and contract are due

The Economy, SamCERA and You
Should I be concerned for my benefits or my member account due to the current economic crisis?

NO.
Both your SamCERA benefits and your SamCERA account balance are protected against any declines due to the economic crisis.

SamCERA benefits are NOT based on investment earnings.
At retirement your benefit will be calculated based on a formula that uses your years of service as a member of the system, your final average salary, and your age.
(Go to SamCERA.org to estimate your benefit at various years of service, final average salaries and ages.)
Your benefits are guaranteed by your employer, the county of San Mateo. They do not fluctuate with the earnings or losses in the stock market or the strength or weakness of the economy.

Your SamCERA account balance cannot be reduced.
Your account earns interest based on the earnings of the fund and the fund’s assumed earnings rate. No matter what happens to the markets, your account will never decline nor will it be credited with more than the assumed rate (currently 7.75%) for any fiscal year. Your account will always be equal to your contributions plus the interest credited. The main use of account balances is for payouts to members who terminate. If you earn a lifetime retirement benefit, it will not be based on your account balance (see above).

But doesn’t SamCERA need investment earnings to pay benefits?

SamCERA’s goal is to earn an average of 7.75% over a long period of years. So while the fund lost value (-7.65%) in the 2007-2008 fiscal year and more during the first few months of the current fiscal year, over the three previous fiscal years the fund has had an average investment return of more than 14%.
The Retirement Board maintains a diversified portfolio of domestic and international equities along with fixed income and real estate investments. The board, investment staff and investment and actuarial consultants expect the fund to continue to earn its assumed return of 7.75% over the long term.
But to reiterate the main point of this flyer, your retirement benefits are guaranteed by your employer, regardless of the earnings or losses of the retirement fund.

SamCERA Education Information
SamCERA has created an education section on the website, with more information on SamCERA's educational offerings, such as workshops, seminars, and online videos.

Education

Introducing Your SamCERA Retirement Plan (Video)
SamCERA has posted a 15 minute video introducing your retirement plan, please take a look when you get a chance.

Orientation Video

Board of Supervisor’s Adopt ARC Time Purchase
On April 24th the Board of Supervisor’s adopted §31658, commonly known as Additional Retirement Credit (ARC) time. 

This means that if you are an active county employee in a contributory plan with 5 years of SamCERA service credit, you are eligible to purchase ARC.  

SamCERA is now accepting funds for ARC purchases.  

To request a cost, click here for the ARC Cost Request Form (PDF).  Each cost memo will bear a date after which it is no longer valid.  If a cost expires before a member can make the purchase or begin the purchase plan, the member must request an updated cost.

Frequently Asked Questions
ARC Cost Estimator