SoCal Retirement Plans

[jabra]

Who has the best retirement plan, and what is the difference between some of them, for example is the 3% @ 50 p.e.r.s. paid by the employee or is that paid for by the city, county etc..

[hbliam]

Who has the best retirement plan, and what is the difference between some of them, for example is the 3% @ 50 p.e.r.s. paid by the employee or is that paid for by the city, county etc..

Depends on the agency. Some pay all of the contribution some pay none and everything in between. Some of lifetime medical most don't.

You should have an idea of a few Cities that you want to work in and compare those agencies. Comparing every agency in the State would take you the whole 30 years.:)

[ElDiabloJoe]

^ yeah, what he said.

PS--Google is your friend. Good luck, have fun :)

EDJ

[jabra]

^ yeah, what he said.

PS--Google is your friend. Good luck, have fun :)

EDJ

to be honest i am just trying to figure out LASD's retirement options against smaller municipalities, from what i think i have figured out, and i may be wrong and probably am, is that LASD's retirement plan doesnt stack up against for example Whittier PD's 3% @ 50 with the 9% employee contribution fully paid by the city, and im still not exactly sure what all this means. EDJ you told me before that LASD is 2.62% @ 55 but it is "fully funded" and from what i have gathered the 2.62% @ 55 is funded by yourself, the employee, and not the county. I know these are things i should be thinking about after i make it through the academy its just something that has been bugging me.

[ElDiabloJoe]

Yep, YOU pay the full contribution to your LACERA retirement. However, they do not count on future contributions to pay you out now, if you were to retire now. It is fully-funded that way, and that is a huge chunk of peace of mind.

Good luck in your search, retirement IS important, but don't forget that you will make almost as much by fully funding your deferred comp and 401(k) options on your own, especially if you fully contribute for your first decade.

Cheers,

EDJ

[pkagel]

Make sure you calculate health costs in there also. Some departments pay 100% of health insurance after retirement and some don't. This would be a huge expense if you had to pay for it yourself.

[pulicords]

I'm in a CalPers 3% @ 50 agency where the city pays my entire contribution, but only after paying into my check, so it's deducted from the gross. This way, when I retire my income is calculated using the retirement contribution as part of my regular, monthly pay. When I retire at the full 90% (with 30 years service credit), I'll actually take home more than 90% because I won't be contributing to the retirement system anymore! My other cash benefits are also figured into the gross for the same reason.

[mdrdep]

With LASD the whole system is designed for you to retire at 55. How old you are when you start will effect how much you pay in a month. After 25 years of service your medical is covered for life. After 30 years of service you no longer have to pay into retirement. I started very young and don't pay a whole lot into the retirement. When I retire at 55 I'll get 98% of my salary plus yearly C.O.L.A. In addition I get pay bumps at 19, 24, and 29 years of service for longevity. In addition LACERA is rock solid as opposed to other public retirement systems in this state.

[zombo]

http://www.vcsd.org/support_services/job_opening/deputy_sheriff_trainee.swf

I've heard Ventura sheriff is pretty good - they cover 100% of retirement...

[jabra]

With LASD the whole system is designed for you to retire at 55. How old you are when you start will effect how much you pay in a month. After 25 years of service your medical is covered for life. After 30 years of service you no longer have to pay into retirement. I started very young and don't pay a whole lot into the retirement. When I retire at 55 I'll get 98% of my salary plus yearly C.O.L.A. In addition I get pay bumps at 19, 24, and 29 years of service for longevity. In addition LACERA is rock solid as opposed to other public retirement systems in this state.

Im 23 and i will be starting the academy in Oct. but i am going in for the OTS program on Sep 4th, and i heard that i will have to figure out my retirement and medical options on that day. I have heard a few things about horizons, is that the same as LACERA, your package sounds pretty good, how do i go about setting that up for myself when i go in on the 4th. thank you.

[hbliam]

Horizons is a deferred compensation plan. They take money out of your check pre-tax and it goes into a retirement account that grows tax deffered. So the money it makes doesn't get taxed every year and stays in the account enabling you to make even more money with it.

If you are smart you "max out" your contributions from day 1. After 30 years you would have about 1.2 million dollars or so to supplement your pension. IOW you would probably be making twice as much retired.

[jabra]

Thanks guys, i think i am understanding it better now, and it sounds like LASD is just as good if not better than some of the other departments out there.

[hbliam]

Thanks guys, i think i am understanding it better now, and it sounds like LASD is just as good if not better than some of the other departments out there.

Working 5 years more for the same retirement is not better. All agencies have deferred comp and many agencies have lifetime medical...and you only have to put in 15 years or so to qualify for that.

[IMachU]

Horizons is a deferred compensation plan. They take money out of your check pre-tax and it goes into a retirement account that grows tax deffered. So the money it makes doesn't get taxed every year and stays in the account enabling you to make even more money with it.

If you are smart you "max out" your contributions from day 1. After 30 years you would have about 1.2 million dollars or so to supplement your pension. IOW you would probably be making twice as much retired.

I only WISH I had started Horizons earlier. I've been contribuiting for about 6 years now. One of the benefits is you can get a loan from your Horizons account. When you pay it back, it's at 10% interest, but every penny, interest included, goes back into your account. I have a LOT taken out each month to make up for my non-existent retirement (I am NOT exaggerating!).

[GB0610]

I only WISH I had started Horizons earlier. I've been contribuiting for about 6 years now. One of the benefits is you can get a loan from your Horizons account. When you pay it back, it's at 10% interest, but every penny, interest included, goes back into your account. I have a LOT taken out each month to make up for my non-existent retirement (I am NOT exaggerating!).

For a guy like me who has never heard of HORIZONS, can I get a little more info??? So say I join, lets say SDPD, this year. How does it work? Do you pay into the city sponsered retirement and Horizons, or just one or the other?

How does it work if you were to transfer to another agency in the area a few years down the road with Horizons or with the city plan?

Thanks!

[pkagel]

Does Horizons allow you to roll an existing 401K into it?

[hbliam]

For a guy like me who has never heard of HORIZONS, can I get a little more info??? So say I join, lets say SDPD, this year. How does it work? Do you pay into the city sponsered retirement and Horizons, or just one or the other?

How does it work if you were to transfer to another agency in the area a few years down the road with Horizons or with the city plan?

Thanks!


You participate in both. Smart guys max out from day one if they can afford it which right now is 15,500 per year. If you leave to another agency you can roll into another DC plan if they don't happen to have the same one as you. (google 457 plans). It's essentially a 401K and I'd be surpised if you couldn't roll a 401K plan over to a 457.

With the City retirement if it's LAPD or LASD I think you are screwed if you move somewhere else. If it's a CALPERS plan or PERS as it's known...it directly transfers.

[savage1]

Another question about Horizons, can you increase your contribution rate later, say after you graduate and are in the field?

[jabra]

I only WISH I had started Horizons earlier. I've been contribuiting for about 6 years now. One of the benefits is you can get a loan from your Horizons account. When you pay it back, it's at 10% interest, but every penny, interest included, goes back into your account. I have a LOT taken out each month to make up for my non-existent retirement (I am NOT exaggerating!).

i dont understand, are you saying that with LASD the LACERA retirement is basically non existent, and HORIZONS is your only hope?

[jabra]

Working 5 years more for the same retirement is not better. All agencies have deferred comp and many agencies have lifetime medical...and you only have to put in 15 years or so to qualify for that.

http://www.lacera.com/benefits/SafetyPlanB.html

i think if im reading this right, you can retire at 50 after 10 years or any age after 20 years. but im new to all this retirement stuff and still trying to get a handle on it.

[DOAcop38]

i dont understand, are you saying that with LASD the LACERA retirement is basically non existent, and HORIZONS is your only hope?

ImachU is in a differnt plan that the "safety" plan for LASD-he's L.A. county POLICE-a seperate Dept.from what I know of LACERA you have retirement option plans(you can take more $$ home ,but get less retirement or put more money in retirement and get less in pay)-either way ,for a new starter or if you aren't further than 1/3 into the career,i'd suggest you get into your depts "deferred comp",or at least find an outside mutual fund-like Putnam ,or at least an annuity......

[IMachU]

Yes, LASD has a good retirement, and safety retirement. Safety retirement is when you get shot, stabbed, beat down, crash a car, etc., and you cannot return to full duty - you get 50% of your pay, tax free, for life. Well, we can't get hurt on my department - or so the County thinks. We do not have that retirement. AND, when I retire at age 55 (with 30 years on) 1) I have to wait 10 years to get a disbirsement check (work at McDonalds) until I'm 65 years old....and the kicker - at my current salary ($5600 a month, top step WITH advanced POST) I get a whopping $19K a year. That free lifetime medical will come in handy since I'll be living in a cardboard box.

I'm putting in 15% of my pre-tax money into Horizons. You can adjust the monthly contribution once a month, and easily make changes on the website. You can move funds around as you see fit, change % going into each pre-packaged plan, etc. That's the ONLY way, on LA County Police, you will be able to stay off welfare when you retire.

[IMachU]

Oh, and sorry it took so long for me to reply. I had an oral interview today! :D

[jabra]

sounds like LA county Police isnt that great of a department, hopefully your interview went well.

[IMachU]

Oh, don't get me wrong - the job is GREAT! The Department itself is GREAT! The bennies suck. The pay is 35% behind other departments. We are losing lieutenants, sergeants, K9 units, even recruitment people to other agencies - as officers. Lt's are taking 2 rank cuts and getting raises doing so. But the Department itself is really good. It's a blast working here. It's too bad the County puts all their resources into the one true County police agency - until they need something and LASD says they can't....then we are the best thing going. We have some great gigs....we had a K9 sergeant and 2 K9 officer positions open, 2 patrol lieutenants positions opened up with a 3rd to open soon, EOB Officer position, etc. Lots of good stuff, and a TON of great policing experience.

Oh, and the interview went fine. Thanks!

[jabra]

by not that great, i meant the pay and bennies, i didnt intend on putting down your job. i have no idea what the LA county Police do all i know about them is they deal with parks and hospitals right?

[IMachU]

We deal with a LOT more than that....you should come out on a ride along if you want the straight scoop.

[mdrdep]

Give you an idea about how bad it is for IMachU. He's a Sgt. I'm a Deputy Sheriff ( although at senior field training officer pay which is 11%). I take home more money after taxes a month than he gets paid total. I have Safety B retirement, he doesn't.

Does the phrase "Red Headed Step Child" mean anything to you? It would if you worked County Police.

[jabra]

Thats a bummer for the county police, i heard that LASD was trying to absorb them.