The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and 37 Act Counties offers a 3% at 50 retirement benefit plan for local safety members. A number of agencies have already contracted to provide this plan. Because of the substantial benefits associated with 3% @ 50, this page was developed to act as an informational resource on this plan by providing a formula on how to calculate an individual’s final compensation, and displaying a graph listing the final percentage of compensation depending upon years of service and age at retirement.
Requirements
The 3 % @ 50 benefit is a negotiated benefit for all agencies who are currently contracted with CalPERS. Safety members must have at least five years of service to be eligible for this retirement plan. There is no minimum age requirement for local safety members. There are some exceptions to the five-year requirement. Your regional CalPERS office can tell you if you qualify for this exception.Estimating Retirement Allowance
Retirement allowances are estimated based upon years of service credit, a benefit factor and final compensation. Your CalPERS Annual Member Statement contains your current service credit. Additional credit can then be added depending upon a projection of your final retirement date.
The benefit factor is the percent of pay you are entitled for each year of service. Under this plan, the percentage of pay to which you are entitled cannot exceed 85 percent of your final compensation.
Final compensation is your average monthly pay rate for the last employment period of either 36 months or 12 months, depending upon your employer’s contract with CalPERS.
Example
If you will be retiring at age 50 with 18.5 years of service, your percent of final compensation might look like this:
|
18.5 |
x |
3% |
= |
55.5% |
|
Years of Service |
Percent per year |
Percent of final |
NOTE: There
are exceptions to the general guidelines outlined above. Please contact your
regional CalPERS office or contact CalPERS Retirement
Program Services at 800-352-2238 for more detailed information.
Peace officers can now obtain a maximum benefit of 90%.
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Listed below is a list of the agencies who currently have the 3% @ 50 retirement benefit for their members: |
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As of 6/12/02 TOTAL: 198 agencies with 3% @ 50.Alameda, Alhambra, Alpine County, Amador County, Anaheim, Antioch, Arcadia, Arcata, Atherton, Auburn, Azusa, Bakersfield, Banning, BART, Beaumont, Belmont, Benicia, Berkeley, Beverly Hills, Bishop, Brawley, Brea, Brentwood, Buena Park, Burbank, Calaveras County, California City, California State University Police, Campbell, Capitola, Carmel, Carlsbad, Chico, Chino, Chula Vista, Clearlake, Clovis, Colton, Colusa County, Concord, Corona, Costa Mesa, Cotati, Covina, Cypress, Daly City, Davis, Dos Palos, Downey, El Cajon, El Cerrito, El Dorado County, El Monte, El Segundo, Escalon, Eureka, Fairfax, Fairfield, Folsom, Fontana City Schools, Fountain Valley, Fremont, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Gardena, Gilroy, Glendale, Glenn County, Grass Valley, Half Moon Bay, Hawthorne, Hayward, Healdsburg, Hermosa Beach, Humboldt County, Huntington Beach, Huntington Park, Imperial County, Inglewood, Inyo County, Irvine, Irwindale, Kensington, Kern County, La Habra, La Mesa, LaVerne, Lincoln, Livermore, Lodi, Lompoc, Long Beach, Los Alamitos, Los Altos, Los Angeles City Schools, Los Gatos, Madera, Mammoth Lakes, Manhattan Beach, Manteca, Mariposa County, Marysville, Menlo Park, Merced, Milpitas, Modesto, Modoc County, Mono County, Monrovia, Montebello, Monterey County, Monterey Peninsula Airport, Mountain View, Murrieta, Napa County, Nevada City, Nevada County, Newark, Newman, Newport Beach, Oakland, Oceanside, Ontario, Orange, Orange County, Orange County Probation, Orland, Oxnard, Palm Springs, Palo Alto, Paradise, Petaluma, Pittsburg, Placentia, Placer County, Placerville, Pleasant Hill, Pleasanton, Redding, Redlands, Redondo Beach, Riverside County, Riverside, Roseville, Sacramento, San Anselmo, San Bruno, San Carlos, San Diego, San Diego City Schools, San Diego County, San Fernando, San Gabriel, San Joaquin County, San Leandro, San Marino, Santa Ana, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Clara County, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz County, Santa Maria, Santa Rosa, Scotts Valley, Seaside, Seal Beach, Sebastopol, Signal Hill, Siskiyou County, Sonoma, Sonora, South Gate, South Lake Tahoe, St. Helena, Stanislaus County, Stockton, Suisun City, Sunnyvale, Susanville, Sutter Creek, Torrance, Tuolumne County, Turlock, Union City, University of California Police, Vacaville, Vallejo, Ventura, Walnut Creek, West Covina, Westminster, Whittier, Williams, Willows, and Yuba City. |