Read the Latest News from RPEA Leaders.
9/1/22 – RPEA Bill carried by Senator Cortese and sponsored by the Retired Public Employees Association (RPEA), SB 1168 raises the minimum statutory CalPERS postretirement benefit for local public agency employees from $500 to $2,000 to establish benefit parity and to address the substantial erosion in the value of the CalPERS postretirement lump sum death benefit which the state originally intended to help pay for the retiree’s funeral costs.
The legislature enacted the original $300 lump sum postretirement death benefit for all CalPERS annuitants in 1945. That amount adjusted for inflation would be $4,699 in 2022. Under current law, the benefit is set from $500 to $5,000 depending on the member’s classification and employer.
“The reality is that the current CalPERS postretirement death benefit amount for most public employees is far below the actual cost of a funeral, putting survivors in difficult positions upon the death of a loved ones,” says Senator Cortese. “SB 1168 will provide survivors with a little extra help during a hard time.”
Senator Dave Cortese
9/1/22 – RPEA Bill carried by State Senator John Laird and sponsored by the Retired Public Employees Association (RPEA), SB 850 was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom this week. This bill enhances the special death benefits payable to the surviving spouse and children of certain member categories, among them peace officer and safety member categories, whose deaths are determined to be industrial. This bill, which has now been signed into law, requires that payment be made to the person having custody of the member’s child or children, if the member does not have a surviving spouse but otherwise meets the specified requirements, or if the spouse dies before each child of the member has died, married, or reached 22 years of age.
Senator John Laird
