Which Department has the best retirement?

[TrojanLee]

I heard officers can retire with 90% of their pay after like 25 years.. is this true? Might as well join somewhere with good retirement... Im 20 years old (almost 20.5) and looking at law enforcement as my career.. Im currently in the national guard as well, I don't know how that will help/hinder me becoming a LEO... I never done any illegal substance and bilingual in Korean (im korean) Also how do these retirements work? I'm sorry if theres already a post like this... thank you!

[Samuel]

You're going to have to research every agency you're interested in and compare packages...

[Citicop]

Samuel-

Did you just tell a guy he needed to "compare packages?"

Just Checking-

-Citicop.

[Samuel]

Samuel-

Did you just tell a guy he needed to "compare packages?"

Just Checking-

-Citicop.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA Sir!

He can compare all he wants in that daily 5-10 (YMMV) minute community shower period...

[L-1]

Right now, the minimum retirement age with any CalPERS (California State) pension is age 50. The best pension they offer is 3% @ 50. That means you are going to have to do 30 years to hit your 90% cap.

CalPERS offers what's called the Air Time program that allows you to buy up to five years of service credit (paying for it out of your own pocket). In your case, coming on at 21 you would only buy one year because you would still need to be 50 to retire.

I don't know of any department that pays 90% for 25 years. That's 3.6% per year. Given that cities are going broke and every one is trying to reduce pensions, I suspect you are hearing a myth. Unless California strikes gold again, my guess is that 3% @ 50 will go away in the future and be replaced by a much lower pension.

[TrojanLee]

so joining a force with 3% at 50 doesnt guarantee it since it could be changed right? Thank you L-1 for clearifying how retirements work! I never knew what % at PERS meant..

I'm just asking since other people probably 'compared packages' before committing themselves to a unit... I don't think I can join until im 22 anyways.. got to finish college first... but the process takes quite a while so..

[L-1]

3% @ 50 is the highest offered right now. However, there are many different plans available and what you get will depend on what your union has negotiates with your department. CalPERS offers 2% @ 55, 2.7% @ 55, 3% @ 55 and 3% @ 50, just to name a few. Of course, any time down the line the department and your union can negotiate a change in the pension plan. Probably what will happen is that existing employees will stay in their current plan and everyone hired after a particular date will start at a lesser plan.

In addition to CalPERS, a number of counties have their own retirement systems as do a few individual cities. Of course, each has their own retirement formulas. Fortunately, most of them have reciprocity with CalPERS, so you can move from department to department and maintain continuity in retirement rather than have to start all over.

[L-1]

In doing your research there are a number of other factors to consider.

First, you need to look at what your retirement is based on. Many retirement plans base it on you highest year's salary (i.e., 90% of your highest single year). However, some base it on your highest three year's salary averaged out. Basing it on your highest three years salary sucks. BTW, overtime usually does not count when figuring your pension in California.

Next, you need to determine what your pension will be based on. Sometimes it is salary only. Sometimes your union contract will be negotiated to include things like paid lunch breaks, educational incentives, bilingual pay, physical performance pay, motor pay, detective pay, FTO pay, K-9 Pay, longevity pay, employer pension contributions etc. These can enhance your salary considerably for the purposes of computing your pension. In my agency. we had so many add ons when it came to determining salasry for the purpose of pensions, that most of our 30 year people wound up retiring at 98% of their salary.

There are other considerations as well, some negative. Most CalPERS pensions only get a 2% cost of living increase each year - no matter hw bad inflation is. at first its not a problem, but in the long run it can be a real killer. I had two friends go out on disability pensions back in 1980. Because they were under age 50, they only got 50% of their salary, which came out to $750 per month. Back then that was big bucks. Today, with 29 years of cost of living increases and special catch up bonuses, their pension checks are all of $1,418 per month. That's almost enough to qualify for welfare in California. If they had gone out at 90%, they would be making $2,552 per month. Here in Los Angeles, that's just enough money to pay the rent on a two bedroom apartment in a good neighborhood. My point is, no matter how good your pension system is, invest your money well along the line to provide a back up income. Over the past 24 years I put $487,000 into two properties that I now own free and clear. Collectively they are now worth six times what I paid for them and they provide me with $51.6K per year in rental income in addition to my pension.

[TrojanLee]

Thank You Sir! Great response and I bet this will help other future prospects in deciding their agency! I never gave that much though about the inflation part.. 2% increase isnt much, very smart move sir on real estate, which agency do you work for now?
also..
i found this website with agencies offering 3%/50 on google.. i don't know if this is legit : url =www (dot) porac.org/3percent@50 (dot) html

[L-1]

which agency do you work for now?
also..
i found this website with agencies offering 3%/50 on google.. i don't know if this is legit : url =www (dot) porac.org/3percent@50 (dot) html

PORAC tends to be a fairly reliable organization. However, contracts are renegotiated all the time and I don't know how often PORAC's list is updated.

I am now retired. I also tend to be openly critical of my agency on these forums when they do something bone headed. Because it is not a good idea to bite the hand that fed you for so many years, I prefer not to identify who I worked for.