’37 Act – The County Employees’ Retirement Law of 1937–better known as the ‘37 Act– is a body of law enacted to govern retirement benefits for certain public employees. SBCERA is one of 20 county retirement systems in California subject to the provisions of the ‘37 Act.

Active Member – Member who is still working for the employer, and participating in SBCERA membership.

Actuary – Licensed retirement plan designer and consultant.

Additional Retirement Credit (ARC) – Service credit that you can purchase to increase your total retirement service credit. ARC is not based on actual employment. You must be an active member in the SBCERA plan with at least five (5) years of actual County or District service credit to purchase ARC.

Age Factor – This is the age used in determining retirement allowances. There are maximum ages for both membership types. Working beyond a maximum age will not provide you with any further age benefit, but you will continue to add to your retirement allowance by adding to your service credit and, possibly, achieving a higher final earnable compensation. The maximum age for Safety members is 50; for General members, it is age 65.

Annuity – A series of payments (retirement benefits) derived from your contributions and interest for a specific period of time such as a number of years or for life.

Beneficiary – Person(s) you name to receive lump-sum distribution and/or monthly continuance (if eligible) upon your death. If no beneficiary is named or if the beneficiary is no longer living, the beneficiary will be your surviving:1. Legal spouse or registered domestic partner2. Children, or if none,3. Estate.

NOTE: Beneficiary designations are subject to modification by court order.
Benefits – Payments such as monthly retirement payments, disability payments or lump-sum payments.

COLA – A Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) is the annual percentage increase in a member’s monthly retirement. It is up to the Board of Retirement to award a COLA (up to 2%) annually based on the movement of a local region Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Consumer Price Index (CPI) – An indicator of the cost of living published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. It is an indicator of the changing purchasing power of the dollar.

Contributions:Employee – Money deducted from your pay and credited to your retirement account.Employer – Contributions made by your employer on behalf of SBCERA members, in total, to finance all SBCERA benefits.

Deductions – Money taken out of your active employee pay or retirement warrant.

Deferred Reciprocal Member – A contributory member who elected to defer his retirement and entered employment covered by a reciprocal retirement system within six months of termination from County or District SBCERA-covered employment.

Deferred Retirement – As a vested member, you may leave your retirement accumulations, if any, on deposit with SBCERA and elect to retire at a later date.

Disability Retirement – For purposes of the Retirement Plan, “disabled” means that you are “permanently incapacitated of the performance of duty.”

Service-Connected Disability – The disability is a result of injury or illness arising out of and in the course of employment.

Nonservice-Connected Disability – The disability is not related to your job. NOTE: You must have at least five years of service credit to be considered for non-service connected disability retirement benefits.

Domestic Partnership – A State-registered committed partnership between same sex couples or opposite sex couples where one partner is age 62 or over. While registration is not the same as marriage, it does secure many important rights and responsibilities. SBCERA recognizes registered domestic partners as eligible beneficiaries if they meet the required criteria.

Domestic Relations Order (DRO) – A legal judgment, decree or order that acknowledges the right of a former spouse to a community property interest in the retirement benefits.

Earnable Compensation – Your base pay, plus any other payable items (per your MOU) such as uniform allowance, shift differential, etc. This does not include overtime hours.

Eligible Beneficiary – This is a person that you name in writing to receive certain benefits provided by the plan upon your death.

Eligible Child – Your child (or children, if applicable) that is unmarried and under the age of 18, or under the age if 22 if an unmarried, full-time student.

Eligible Domestic Partner – The same-sex partner to whom you are legally registered. Or, it could be your opposite-sex partner over the age of 62 to whom you are legally registered. For purposes of receiving a benefit, the term is defined differently depending on the situation.

Eligible Spouse – The person to whom you are legally married. For purposes of receiving a benefit, the term is defined differently depending on the situation.

Entry Age – Age at closest birthday to date you joined/rejoined SBCERA.

Final Compensation Earnable – Average monthly compensation earnable for the 12 consecutive months of your highest compensation. (It is called “final” because normally it is a member’s last 12 months of compensation earnable, but an earlier period’s compensation earnable could be used if it is higher).

General Member – You are a General member if you do any work for an employer other than active law enforcement or active fire suppression.

Member Statement – An annual account notice sent to your mailing address that provides Active, Deferred Vested and Deferred Reciprocal members with a current balance in your retirement account, as well as benefit estimates.

Nonrefundable Contributions Option – You elect to contribute to the Retirement Plan at a lower rate (rate subject to annual review); however, you are not entitled to a refund of any non-refundable contributions or interest if you terminate employment with an employer participating in SBCERA.

Prior Public Agency Service (PPAS) – Prior service in a public agency such as Federal civil service, military service and some public employers in California. NOTE: This service is not purchasable if you are entitled to receive a pension or retirement benefit for it.

Refundable Contributions Option – You elect to contribute to the Retirement Plan at a higher rate ($1 for every $1 required) and you are eligible for a refund of your refundable employee contributions, your employer refundable pick-up portion and the interest on both if you terminate employment with an employer participating in SBCERA.

Reciprocal – Referring to the shared relationship/membership in two or more California public retirement plans that enhances benefits and “links” them together. See also “reciprocity.”

Reciprocity – An agreement between SBCERA and another California public retirement system that allows you to receive retirement benefits from both, under certain circumstances and requirements.

Redeposit – Paying back of money and related interest that was previously withdrawn from your Retirement Plan account to restore service credit.

Retirement Date – The first date for which retirement income is payable to you and the date when your retirement election becomes irrevocable.

Safety Member – You are a Safety member if you are employed in active law enforcement or active fire suppression.

SBCERA – San Bernardino County Employees’ Retirement Association (also referred to as “the Plan” or “the System”).

Service Credit – Credit you earn over time as an SBCERA member. It is expressed as years and/or portions of a year. For members that are part-time employees, a proportionate amount of credit is earned. For calculation purposes, SBCERA uses 2,087 hours as the measure of one (1) year of service credit.

Summary Plan Description – A general description of SBCERA retirement plan provisions offered to plan participants and beneficiaries (also known as “The Compass”).

Survivor Benefits – Those benefits that are payable to a General member’s eligible spouse, registered domestic partner or children upon your death.

Vested – Members are considered “vested” or eligible to receive a future benefit after achieving five years of service credit.

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