2023 Annual Benefit Statements

Posted on May 4, 2023

VCERA’s 2023 annual benefit statements were mailed to all active VCERA members on May 4, 2023. If you have any questions about your statement, please contact VCERA at (805) 339-4250 or VCERA.info@ventura.org.

Annual Benefit Statements Mailed

Posted on March 28, 2025

VCERA’s annual benefit statements as of December 31, 2024, as well as information about the Alameda Decision, were mailed to all active VCERA members on March 28, 2025. If you have any questions about your statement or the Alameda Fact Sheet, please

Open Recruitment for Senior Accounting Technician

Posted on March 20, 2025

VCERA is pleased to open a recruitment for a Retirement Accounting Technician. This position will be responsible for complex bookkeeping, accounts payable, fiscal data evaluation and analysis, fiscal monitoring, summarizing financial transactions for

2025 Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA)

Posted on March 18, 2025

The 2025 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for eligible retirees, beneficiaries, and other payees with a retirement date of April 1, 2025 or earlier will be reflected in retirement benefit payments on April 30, 2025: Safety retirees and General Tier 1

Social Security Fairness Act

Posted on February 19, 2025

On January 5, 2025, former President Biden signed the Social Security Fairness Act into law, after it was passed by the Senate in December and House in November. The legislation eliminates the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pensi

Open Recruitment for Retirement Benefits Manager

Posted on February 19, 2025

VCERA is pleased to open a recruitment for a Retirement Benefits Manager. This position will assist the Chief Operations Officer (COO) in supervising professional-level specialized Retirement operations staff, including providing training to staff an

Alameda Implementation Status Update

Posted on February 11, 2025

VCERA Staff are implementing the July 2020 California Supreme Court Decision, Alameda County Deputy Sheriffs’ Association v. Alameda County Employees’ Retirement Association (2020) 9 Cal.5th 1032, 1070, commonly referred to as “Alameda.” This impleme

Alameda Decision FAQs and Glossary

Posted on December 8, 2023

Although the California Supreme Court’s Alameda Decision touched all CERL retirement systems, VCERA was particularly impacted. The ruling affected multiple parts of VCERA’s operations, most importantly the recalculation of retirement benefits. To hel

2025 Board of Retirement Election Results

Posted on February 6, 2025

Election results are in for the General Member and Alternate Safety Member seats on the VCERA Board of Retirement. On February 5, 2025, the Ventura County Elections Division issued certified results for the election held on February 3, 2025. The foll

2024 Form 1099-Rs Mailed

Posted on January 30, 2025

Form 1099-Rs reporting the 2024 retirement earnings of retirees and other VCERA payees were mailed on January 28, 2025. The 1099-Rs are also available in Member Portal accounts. Members are encouraged to consult a qualified tax preparer with question

Open Recruitment for Accountant II/Senior

Posted on December 10, 2024

VCERA is pleased to open a recruitment for a Retirement Accountant. This position will be responsible for fiscal monitoring, accounting control, budget compilation and projection, financial statement development, and other accounting functions for VC

Leave Straddling FAQs

Posted on February 22, 2024

The Alameda Decision excluded from Legacy members’ pensionable earnings payments for annual leave redemptions (i.e., vacation buydowns) that exceed what “may be earned and payable in each 12-month period” during their final average compensation (FAC)

Board Adopts 7.9% Interest Rate for all Alameda-Related Corrections

Posted on June 3, 2024

On May 20, 2024, the Board of Retirement voted to adopt a 7.9% interest rate on underpaid benefits stemming from Alameda-related corrections. Members who retired on or after July 30, 2020 who had certain estimated exclusions applied at the time of th

Alameda Administrative Appeal Process

Posted on March 25, 2024

VCERA has created the Alameda Administrative Appeal Request Form to provide members who are affected by the Alameda Decision with the opportunity to appeal VCERA’s corrections to their retirement accounts. Corrective actions could include removing ce

Notice of Election for General Member and Special Election for Alternate Safety Member on Board

Posted on November 20, 2024

An election for a General Member Representative and a special election for an Alternate Safety Member Representative on the VCERA Board of Retirement will be held on February 3, 2025. Any active General member is eligible to run for the General Membe

County of Ventura Legacy Retiree Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) Overview

Posted on September 18, 2024

The Alameda Decision of 2020 concluded that all amendments to the definition of compensation earnable, enacted because of the Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013 (PEPRA), were constitutional. The Court also ruled that boards may not include

New Federal Tax Withholding Form W-4P Form Starting January 1, 2023

Posted on November 28, 2022

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) revised the federal tax withholding form W-4P in 2022. VCERA had a temporary grace period but will begin using the revised 2023 version of Form W-4P on January 1, 2023. If you plan to change your tax withholding at

Death & Survivor Benefits

Posted on May 4, 2017

As a VCERA member, death and survivor benefits may be payable to your surviving spouse, minor children, other eligible beneficiary or estate. The type and amount of benefits depend on many different factors and can only be determined after a full rev

Income Tax

Posted on September 11, 2017

VCERA will withhold federal and state (California only) income taxes from your monthly retirement benefit according to the preferences you indicated on the Federal and California State Tax Withholding Form. You can update your preferences at any time

2023 Board of Retirement Election Results

Posted on June 26, 2023

Election results are in for the General Member, Safety Member and Retired Member seats on the VCERA Board of Retirement. On June 23, 2023, the Ventura County Elections Division issued certified results for the elections held on June 20, 2023. The fol

2023 Form 1099-Rs Mailed

Posted on January 29, 2024

Form 1099-Rs reporting the 2023 retirement earnings of retirees and other VCERA payees were mailed on January 26, 2024. The 1099-Rs are also available in Member Portal accounts. Members are encouraged to consult a qualified tax preparer with question

Redeposit of Refunded Contributions

Posted on September 11, 2017

You may redeposit retirement contributions that you previously withdrew from an earlier period of membership in VCERA. To restore your forfeited retirement service credit, you must redeposit all previously withdrawn contributions plus the interest th

Oct. 12 Board Meeting Regarding Alameda Decision

Posted on October 12, 2020

On October 12, 2020, the VCERA Board of Retirement adopted a Resolution (Redline Version and Clean version), implementing the California Supreme Court’s July 30, 2020, ruling in ALAMEDA COUNTY DEPUTY SHERIFF’S ASSN. v. ALAMEDA COUNTY EMPLOYEES’ RETI

Excluded PEPRA pay codes

Posted on April 21, 2021

On April 19, 2021, the Board of Retirement approved to ratify staff determination on pay codes impacted by the October 12, 2020, Resolution regarding Alameda implementation for compensation earnable and pensionable compensation. The attached list of

2023 Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA)

Posted on January 24, 2022

The 2023 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for eligible retirees, beneficiaries and other payees with a retirement date of April 1, 2023 or earlier will be reflected in retirement benefit payments on April 28, 2023: Safety retirees and General Tier 1

2022 Form 1099-Rs Mailed

Posted on January 29, 2022

Form 1099-Rs reporting the 2022 retirement earnings of retirees and other VCERA payees will be mailed by January 31, 2022. The 1099-Rs are available in Member Portal accounts. Members are encouraged to consult a qualified tax preparer with questions

Member Portal Multifactor Authentication

Posted on September 20, 2022

To provide additional levels of security, VCERA has implemented Multifactor Authentication (MFA) on our Member Portal. MFA will assist with prevention of cybersecurity incidents, protect your personal information, and further secure your data agains

Governor Veto of Assembly Bill 826 and Impact on VCERA Legacy Members

Posted on October 5, 2022

On September 29, 2022, Governor Newsom vetoed Assembly Bill 826, a bill sponsored by SEIU and the County of Ventura. Had it passed, AB 826 would have allowed, under specific conditions, Legacy members’ compensation for calculating their retirement be

Disclaimer for VCDSA Pension Calculator

Posted on February 2, 2023

It has come to VCERA’s attention that the Ventura County Deputy Sheriffs’ Association (VCDSA) recently released a pension calculator application to its members. VCERA disclaims the accuracy of this pension calculator, as none of the calculations gene

March 27, 2023 Upcoming Board Meeting: Alameda Flex Credit Resolution

Posted on March 21, 2023

At the upcoming March 27, 2023, VCERA Board of Retirement meeting, at 10:00 a.m. Time Certain, the Board will be reviewing a proposed Resolution to implement the exclusion of in-kind benefits per the California Supreme Court’s July 30, 2020, ruling i

March 27, 2023 Board Meeting Recap Re: Alameda Flex Credit Resolution

Posted on March 28, 2023

At the March 27, 2023, Board of Retirement meeting, the Board reviewed the pending proposed Resolution Regarding Correction of Pensionability of Benefits under County of Ventura’s Flexible Benefits Program (“Flex Credit Resolution”) in advance of its

Update on Resolutions Passed by Board on April 17, 2023

Posted on April 18, 2023

On April 17, 2023, the VCERA Board of Retirement adopted two Resolutions regarding the Alameda Decision, each affecting different groups of VCERA members. Some members are not affected at all. For example, those who retired from VCERA prior to Januar

Updated Pensionability of Pay Codes

Posted on June 2, 2023

Pay codes are used by employers to identify and classify types of pay remitted to employees. Some types of pay are includable in retirement earnings,* as determined by CERL and the Board of Retirement, and some are not. In the Alameda Decision, the C

Impact of Alameda Decision on Flex Credit and Retirement Benefits

Posted on July 18, 2023

When the California Supreme Court issued the Alameda Decision on July 30, 2020, it ruled that retirement boards do not have the discretion to include in Legacy members’ compensation earnable “in-kind” benefits. As determined in prior case law, “flex

Richard Santos Appointed as Interim Retirement Administrator

Posted on July 20, 2023

July 20, 2023 – The Ventura County Employees’ Retirement Association (VCERA) Board of Retirement has appointed Richard Santos as VCERA’s Interim Retirement Administrator. He will replace the retiring chief executive, Linda Webb, who held the position

Alameda Implementation Status Report

Posted on September 13, 2023

On September 11, 2023, VCERA staff updated the Board of Retirement on the progress of the Alameda implementation, which is divided into two phases: Phase 1 (May 2023 – September 2024) is primarily focused on the efforts needed to calculate mass corre

2024 Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA)

Posted on January 26, 2024

The 2024 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for eligible retirees, beneficiaries and other payees with a retirement date of April 1, 2024 or earlier will be reflected in retirement benefit payments on April 30, 2024: Safety retirees and General Tier 1

Final Average Compensation

Posted on September 11, 2017

One of the factors used to calculate your retirement benefit is your final average compensation (FAC), which is based on your benefit tier and/or hire date. The time period in which your FAC is earned is called your “measurement period”: For Safety T

Disability Hearing Procedures

Posted on May 23, 2017

In April 1999, the Board of Retirement revised its Disability Hearing Procedures, which governs VCERA’s disability process and includes definitions, rules, roles, policies and procedures. In July 2020, the Board approved VCERA’s Disability Retirement

Withdrawal of Contributions

Posted on September 11, 2017

If you elect to withdraw your retirement contributions, your VCERA membership immediately ends, as does your right to apply for a service, disability, deferred or reciprocal retirement. Therefore, please carefully consider all your options before dec

July 26, 2021 Board of Retirement Resolution Re: Flex Credit

Posted on July 30, 2021

On July 26, 2021, the VCERA Board of Retirement adopted a Resolution regarding the flexible credit benefit amount that may be included in compensation earnable for “Legacy” members (hired before January 1, 2013). Prior to the 2020 Plan Year, the Coun

April 10, 2023 Letter to Members Re: Potential Impact of Alameda Decision

Posted on April 10, 2023

On April 10, 2023, VCERA mailed a letter to its entire membership regarding the Alameda Decision’s anticipated impact on different categories of members. The correspondence also summarized the court ruling and notified members about the Board of Reti

Alameda Decision Implementation Update from Retirement Administrator, Linda Webb

Posted on October 7, 2020

Dear County Employees & VCERA Members, On October 12, 2020, the VCERA Board of Retirement will be considering a matter of general interest and importance to VCERA members regarding the impact of the California Supreme Court Alameda decision on VCERA.

RFP for Actuarial Auditing Services

Posted on June 5, 2023

An RFP for Actuarial Auditing Services was issued on June 5, 2023: The following documents were posted on June 29, 2023 in response to vendor inquiries:

Linda Webb Resigns as Retirement Administrator

Posted on June 14, 2023

June 15, 2023 – The Ventura County Employees’ Retirement Association (VCERA) today announced that Linda Webb has decided to step down as its Retirement Administrator, the chief executive position she has held since January 2015. The governing Board o

VCERA Not Affected by PBI Data Breach

Posted on July 20, 2023

VCERA contracts with PBI Research Services (PBI) for death and beneficiary audit services. In late May 2023, a third-party file transfer software used by PBI, MOVEit, identified a vulnerability in its software that was actively exploited by attackers

Alameda Implementation Status Update

Posted on December 28, 2023

VCERA staff has provided the Board of Retirement with three Alameda Implementation status updates since October 2023. Highlights from those status reports include: The total number of Alameda Implementation corrections exceeds 13,000. (This total ref

VCERA Opens Recruitment for Investment Officer

Posted on March 10, 2024

VCERA is pleased to open recruitment for an Investment Officer. This position will assist the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) in overseeing VCERA’s public pension plan portfolio. To learn more about the job opening, click here to view the recruitment

Flex Credit Under Old and New Benefit Structures

Posted on May 28, 2024

In the Alameda Decision, issued on 7/30/2020, the California Supreme Court ruled that retirement boards, such as VCERA’s, could not include in Legacy members’ compensation earnable any pay items that were excluded by law, including “in-kind” benefits

VCERA Opens Recruitment for Accounting Manager I

Posted on July 22, 2024

VCERA is pleased to open a recruitment for a Retirement Accounting Manager. This position will assist the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in planning, organizing, and directing payroll and fiscal activities at VCERA. To learn more about the job opening

Amy Herron Appointed as Retirement Administrator

Posted on December 22, 2023

December 22, 2023 – The Ventura County Employees’ Retirement Association (VCERA) Board of Retirement has appointed Amy Herron as VCERA’s new Retirement Administrator, effective January 8, 2024. She will replace Rick Santos, who has held the position