Go to AFA About Us page
Go to AFA Communications page
Go to page
Go to AFA Contract & Negotiations page
Go to AFA Resources page
Go to Adjunct Interest page
View/Print AFA Membership Application
Go to AFA Contacts page
 
 

HOT TOPICS !

Social Security Rate
6.2% employer and employee contribution

AB1469 CalSTRS DB Rate Increases eff. 7.1.14

"Social Security & Your Retirement"
PPT (3.6 MB)

Social Security Fairness
Repeal WEP & GPO

 
 

Retirement Benefits

New!...  View this informative presentation, "Retirement Basics," [PDF 2014] by Deborah Dahl Shanks, FACCC Retirement Committee and adjunct faculty member Contra Costa Community College. Also helpful from Cliff Liehe, City Collge of San Francisco, is this "Retirement Primer for California Community College Part-Time Faculty" [PDF 2007].

As an adjunct, you have a choice of three retirement plan options (employee <=> employer contribution rates):
      1. California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS)
          CalSTRS Defined Benefit Plan (2016-17: 9.205% or 10.25% <=> 12.58%),
      2. CalSTRS Cash Balance Plan (4.00% <=> 4.00%),
      3. and a District-provided 403(b) retirement plan administered by Fidelity Investments (3.75% <=> 3.75%).
You signed up for one of these three plans when you were hired.  Each plan requires a different contribution rate from the employee and employer. Under certain circumstances, you can switch to another plan.  (You can also participate in a voluntary 403(b) plan, called a tax sheltered annuity, and sign up for automatic voluntary deductions from your paycheck.  There’s no matching contribution from the District in this plan.)

Each plan has very different requirements about how to access those cash benefits, in full or in the form of monthly payments, at the time you retire. For that reason, AFA urges you to contact Human Resources (HR) and Payroll if you are planning to retire in the near future. (Since AFA is not in a position to offer financial or retirement counseling, we also recommend that you consult CalSTRS or Fidelity for additional information and advice about your retirement plans.)  

Retirement from Cash Balance or Fidelity Investments requires the following to occur:

  • Write your letter of resignation to your department and send a copy of that letter to HR and Payroll.
  • Your department will need to create a termination PAF and send it to HR.
  • HR will change your employment status in the system.
  • Payroll will cease contributions/deductions for Cash Balance and Fidelity Investments and adjust OASDI/MEDI taxes.
  • Payroll will sign off on forms to be sent to Cash Balance or Fidelity Investments, once initiated by faculty member to refund or retire from the systems. Sick leave time is not reportable for these two retirement systems.
Retirement from CalSTRS Defined Benefit requires the following to occur:
  • Write a letter to your department and send a copy to HR and Payroll indicating that you are retiring.  Be sure to list your last working day, as well as your CalSTRS retirement date.
  • Your department will need to create a termination PAF and send it to HR.
  • HR will change your employment status in the system.
  • Payroll wil cease contributions/deductions for STRS and adjust OASDI/MEDI taxes.
  • Submit your CalSTRS Express Benefit form to HR for completion.

In all circumstances you will retain placement with your original Date of Hire on your department's length of service list and retain all rights under Article 16: Hourly Assignments, should you decide to return to work as an adjunct, as long as there’s no break in service longer than as defined in Article 16. For more information, log onto the AFA Contract at http://www.santarosa.edu/afa/articles.shtml or contact the AFA office at afa@santarosa.edu or 527-4731.

 
  Phone: 707⁄527–4731 FAX: 707⁄524–1762 Last Update: 10/02/18