Tier 1 | San Joaquin County Employee Retirement

Retirement Benefits Tier 1 - You are a Tier 1 member if you entered SJCERA membership on or before December 31, 2012, or you establish incoming reciprocity between SJCERA and another public retirement system for employment occurring on or before December 31, 2012. A person becomes a member of SJCERA on the first day of employment in a permanent, full-time position with a participating employer.

Tier 1 General Member Maximum Formula:	2.611% at age 62+
Tier 1 Safety Member Maximum Formula:	3% at age 50+
Final Compensation Period:	Highest 12 consecutive months
Post-Retirement COLA:	Up to 3% per year, based on actual changes in CPI
2023 Annual Federal Compensation Limit: *	$330,000
2023 Annual Federal Benefit Limit: **	$265,000
* The Internal Revenue Code Section 401(a) (17) imposes limits on compensation that may be used to calculate retirement benefits for individuals who became a member of SJCERA Tier 1 after January 1, 1996. ** The Internal Revenue Code Section 415(b) limits the annual benefit amount that SJCERA can pay to a retiree. This limit is based on your age at retirement and is generally lower for members who retire under age 62. However, the benefits of retired employees of sheriff's and fire departments with at least 15 years of service credit and recipients of survivor and disability allowances are not age-adjusted; they are tested against the full 415(b) dollar limit. SJCERA employers have a replacement benefit plan for Tier 1 members affected by 415(b) limits that pays the difference between the IRC limit and the benefit you have earned.

Compensation Earnable Tier 1 - Compensation that can be included in the determination of retirement benefits from SJCERA excludes:

Any compensation the Board of Retirement determines was paid to enhance a member's retirement benefit
"In-kind" compensation or employer payments to third parties that was converted to cash to the member in the final compensation period

Any one-time or ad hoc payment to a member but not to all similarly situated members in the member's grade or class

Payments for overtime

Payments for additional services rendered outside of normal working hours, whether paid in lump sum or otherwise
Any terminal pay and unused leave payoffs that exceed what may be earned and payable in the one-year final compensation period

Contributions to Retirement Tier 1 - Tier 1 member contributions are based upon membership classification, representation unit, and entry age into the system.

Your entry age is the age you are when you enter SJCERA membership. If you were more than 6 months past your birthday when you entered membership, SJCERA rounds your actual age up to the next age. For example if you entered SJCERA membership at age 30 and 7 months, your official entry age would be 31. Leaving active membership and becoming a deferred member may affect your entry age.

Your contributions are deducted from each biweekly paycheck you receive. Please click on the table below that applies to your Employer and Bargaining Unit to see your 2023 Member Contribution Rates.

2023 Member Contribution Rates - TIER I GENERAL

EMPLOYER	BARGAINING UNIT
Superior Court	A, B, C80, D, E, F, G, R, X
Tracy Cemetery	X

EMPLOYER	BARGAINING UNIT
SJC Mosquito	X
SJ Historical Society	X
LAFCO	X
SJC Law Library	X

EMPLOYER	BARGAINING UNIT
San Joaquin County	A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, M, O, P, R, S, T, X
Mountain House	A, B, C, D, E, F

2023 Member Contribution Rates - TIER I SAFETY

EMPLOYER	BARGAINING UNIT
San Joaquin County	J

EMPLOYER	BARGAINING UNIT
Waterloo-Morada Fire	X

EMPLOYER	BARGAINING UNIT
San Joaquin County	A, B, C, H, J*, K, L, N, Q, U

EMPLOYER	BARGAINING UNIT
Lathrop Manteca Fire	X