Confidentiality
Confidentiality
The County Employees’ Retirement Law of 1937 requires that retirement plans like VCERA protect the confidentiality of member records and not disclose them to anyone except as may be necessary for Plan administration, upon order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or upon written authorization by the member. Therefore, VCERA has implemented several procedural and technological measures to ensure that your account information is disclosed only to individuals authorized to see it. However, please be aware that the names, salaries and pension amounts of public officials and employees are subject to public disclosure under the California Public Records Act.
Verifying Your Identity
Your retirement account information will be provided to you only upon verification of your identity. This may include showing a copy of your driver’s license, answering member-specific questions during a phone call, or supplying a unique username and password when accessing your VCERA Member Portal account.
In addition, all VCERA documents, forms and service requests that require a signature must be signed by you in blue or black ink.
Authorized Representatives
No person may act on your behalf, even a spouse or parent, except as permitted by an authorized Power of Attorney (POA) that terminates upon your death. Similarly, if a guardian or conservator has been appointed for you, only the named agent may act on your behalf. For an executed POA or court-filed order of appointment to be effective at VCERA, a certified copy must be in the member’s file.
Address Changes
To safeguard the privacy of your VCERA account information that is delivered by mail, please keep your address current:
- Active members must make address changes through their employer. VCERA cannot process such requests directly from employees.
- Deferred members, retirees and beneficiaries must make address changes with VCERA in writing. You can download a Change of Address Form, contact VCERA to request the form, send the address to VCERA in a signed letter, or update your mailing and payment address(es) directly in your Member Portal account.