California Rule Upheld
In the long-awaited California State Supreme decision, the ‘California Rule’ has been upheld. The basic tenet that your pension, when hired, must be as valuable when you retire is still in place. The decision also upheld the 2012 Penson Reform Act (PEPRA) provision that eliminated ‘spiking’ of pensions by stuffing unused leave time into the final-year pay. In other words, only basic pay can apply to your pension calculation.
California’s Supreme Court will hear arguments on May 5
California’s Supreme Court will hear arguments on May 5 that challenge the California Rule. Hopefully, our pensions will survive this assault unscathed with our benefits intact.
Al Darby
No RMD Required in 2020
Those of you who must take Required Minimum Distributions (RMD) from your IRA or Deferred Comp (457’s), 401K’s, etc. every year: you do not have to take the RMD from your IRA (or deferred comp) account this year (2020 only) unless, of course, you need it to live on. By not taking the RMD you save some federal and state income tax for the 2020 tax year.
Al Darby
New Annuitant Work Hours Policy During State of Emergency
By declaration of the Governor, CalPERS has announced that the 960 annual hours restriction is waived during the Coronavirus emergency period. Annuitant workers can exceed the annual restriction on hours. The 180 day waiting period, after retirement, to begin annuitant work is also waived during the emergency period.
Al Darby
A message to All RPEA members from our friends at AMBIA
A message to All RPEA members from our friends at AMBIA,
We are certainly in unprecedented times. Our partner, AMBIA is busy working from home and are calling as many members as they can to offer policy reviews and benefit reviews to everyone.
If you have never learned about the many benefits that are available to you this may be a great time to check it out. The AMBIA agents could call you, email you, teleconference with you and explain those great benefits to you !
Look for their phone call or if you want someone to call you this week please reach out to our California Regional Vice President Jack Danielson.
You can email him jack.danielson@amba.info or call him at 530 864 3793. He will have someone reach out to you today! This is a great time to learn more about what your RPEA benefits can bring to you!
Thank you and stay well,
Al Darby
COLA 2020
On May 1, you will see an increase in your pension allowance due to the annual Cost-OF-Living-Allowance (COLA). See the chart below to determine your increase.
| Year of Retirement | % COLA Increase Effective May 1, 2020 | |
| 2004 & earlier | 2% | Retired before 1980 with a 3% COLA max. 1.81% |
| 2005-2015 | 1.81% | Retired before 1970 with 4% COLA max. 1.81% |
| 2016-2017 | 2% | Retired with 5% COLA maximum 1.81% |
| 2018 | 1.81% | These higher COLA allowances are variable. They pay their max if Natl. Urban CPI exceeds their limit. |
| 2019 | Not eligible |
All RPEA Leadership re: Coronavirus:
As of last Friday, March 20, the Governor along with the City of Sacramento declared all non-essential businesses be closed or work from home. Our plan is to staff the office with one person a day to cover each week. They will receive phone calls, mail and deliveries and get checks into the mail (staff members will rotate into the office each day to serve their day). Beyond this, staff members will use a laptop computer at home to perform their normal duties to the greatest extent possible. There will be limitations on what they can do and some disruptions will occur. We must understand that many unanticipated situations will arise and we deal with them as best we can.
Please be patient if your inquiries don’t get handled as fast as they did under normal conditions. Needless to say, only emergency standing/ad hoc committee meetings can be held and they will be video conferenced and/or telephonic until further notice.
Please inform your chapter members as best you can. We will post this on the RPEA Website and place it social media (Facebook).
Al Darby
President
"Breaking News: Video explains Coronavirus"
Link to Latest CDC information on Coronavirus below:
RPEA Bills in Legislature
“Assemblyman Jim Cooper is carrying two RPEA sponsored bills in the legislature for RPEA. AB2378 would allow CalPERS to add to the existing death benefit an annual increase based on the California Urban Consumer Price Index (CPI). AB3359 would allow the California Urban Consumer Price Index to be used in calculating the annual Cost-0f-Living-Allowance (COLA) most of us see every May - this is a better measure of CPI in California. We will keep you apprised of the progress of these bills. We hope to interject two other matters into the legislative process this year as well. Great thanks to our Legislative Committee and Aaron Read and Pat Moran, our lobbyists, and especially Assemblyman Jim Cooper.”
Al Darby
President
About Us
RPEA fights for the well-being of its members in retirement. How? RPEA retains a professional lobbyist who represents our interest before the Governor, Legislators and CalPERS Board. We also have access to a federal lobbyist who keeps us informed on federal retiree issues. Plus we partner with organizations like Association Member Benefits & Insurance Agency (AMBIA) to provide quality insurance at great group rates.
Learn MoreFind Your Chapter!
Chapters Serve:
- As informational centers for members to discuss issues affecting their pension and benefits.
- As a place for members to meet together for social and business activities.
- As a direct vital link between local membership and RPEA headquarters.
- To get information on the chapter nearest you, choose the area in which you live. You may also call or email the area director listed for each area.
Need More Info?
If you're interested in membership and/or supplemental insurance but have questions, fill out this quick form to have someone follow up.