Consultations & Exhibits

While you’re at the Educational Forum, schedule time to meet with one of our pension actuaries for a one-on-one, 30-minute consultation. This is your chance to get questions answered in a private session using your June 30, 2023 valuation report as a basis for discussion (be sure to bring it with you). We can go over:

• Contribution requirements for the 2025-26 fiscal year
• How to manage your unfunded liability or stabilize contributions by making discretionary payments
• Other specific areas of pension funding concern

Sign up for your appointment at the Meet Your Actuaries room, or in advance by emailing korene.woodard@calpers.ca.gov.

Looking for more information about the CalPERS Health Program? We’re available to meet with you one-on-one to answer your individual questions. To sign up for a consultation in advance, email CalPERSHealth@calpers.ca.gov.

If you’re one of more than 840 agencies participating in the CalPERS 457 Plan, meet with our team to get up to speed on your employees’ participation in this low-cost, deferred compensation plan. Your personalized review includes:

• A statistical overview of your accounts, assets, and contributions
• Demographic stats of employees’ allocations in different funds/asset classes
• Fund Performance
• Roth 457 (after-tax) and loan options

This consultation also helps in understanding your fiduciary responsibility in administering the plan. To sign up in advance, email Dave Saavedra at dave.saavedra@calpers.ca.gov or call (916) 795-3908.

An open invitation to all California Employers’ Retiree Benefit Trust (CERBT) & California Employers’ Pension Prefunding Trust (CEPPT) customers, including prospective customers with program interest or curiosity, to meet with our Prefunding Programs team to discuss the details of:

• CERBT and/or CEPPT account performance updates
• OPEB and pension funding policy goals, trends, and considerations
• Best practices when administering your CERBT and/or CEPPT account
• How to establish a CERBT and/or CEPPT account

To schedule a 30-minute consultation in advance, email CERBT4U@calpers.ca.gov or call (916) 291-0391.

Meet with experts from the CalPERS Employer Account Management Division (EAMD) to have your questions answered about payroll reporting, membership, special compensation, reporting retired annuitants, independent contractors versus employee determinations, Social Security coverage, and STRS/PERS elections. Our dedicated team will assist on a one-on-one basis to provide you with the information and resources that you need.

To schedule an appointment to discuss employment certifications in advance, email membership_reporting@calpers.ca.gov.

Have questions about your CalPERS pension contract? Let our team help. We’re available to meet with you one-on-one to address your concerns. You have two ways to sign up: visit the Answering Questions About CalPERS Pension Contracts booth in the exhibit hall or email us in advance at pensioncontracts@calpers.ca.gov.

Have questions about your CalPERS pension contract? We have experts available to help you better understand a range of issues and processes including:

• Collection
• Contract amendments
• Contract compliance merging
• New agency contracting
• School and charter school contracting

Connect with us to ensure your pension-related questions get answered with timely and accurate information.

Currently offering or considering a low-cost, 457 deferred compensation plan for your employees’ benefits package? Stop by to get the most up-to-date answers to your questions. We’ll be on hand to help you and your team with details such as:

• Plan adoption
• How to educate your employees on deferred compensation plans
• myCalPERS payroll deduction and payment process
• The Roth 457 after-tax option for participants
• Optional loan provisions

Get hands-on guidance and support to help you fine-tune your disability retirement processes. Our team will walk you through the online resource guide and answer questions on common topics including:

• Differences between workers’ compensation and retirement benefits
• Employer-originated applications
• Filing appeals
• Importance of completing retirement documents
• Issues relating to disciplinary actions vs. disability retirement
• When to apply

Searching for top-tier health benefits to attract and retain an exceptional workforce? Let us show you how our health program provides access to equitable, high-quality, and affordable health care to nearly 1,200 public agencies, schools, and their valued employees. Whether you need health benefits for a specific department, your entire agency, or an employee group, our team is here to assist you every step of the way.

Talk with our educators to find out how the Employer Education Program can assist you in conducting your CalPERS business. We can help you:

• Strengthen your knowledge of CalPERS laws, policies, and reporting
• Get personalized assistance with resources such as reference guides, educational class offerings, and schedules
• Subscribe to the Employer Bulletin to receive important updates

Wondering which resolution is the best fit for your agency? Speak with our Health Resolution and Compliance team to get the clarification you need to make well-informed decisions. They can provide guidance to current business partners considering a change to their employer contribution by reviewing your resolutions on file as well as answering questions regarding our program.

Our Public Agency Health Billing team can familiarize you with the billing processes, review recent enhancements, and find answers to your questions regarding:

• Billing deadlines
• Consequences of late payment
• Delinquent payments, underpayments, or over payments
• Reconciling your health premium statement

Do you have questions about health business rules? Meet with a CalPERS team member to learn about your responsibilities as a health benefits officer. You can also receive answers to questions related to:

• Health enrollment requirements
• Health benefits into retirement
• Parent-child relationships and disabled dependents
• COBRA and direct pay
• And more health enrollment related topics

Still have questions about Medicare enrollment policies and procedures? Meet with a CalPERS team member to learn about your responsibilities as an employer. You can receive answers to questions related to:

• Medicare eligibility and enrollment
• Coordinating Medicare coverage with CalPERS
• Deferment requirements for employees working beyond age 65
• And more Medicare-related topics

Are you up to speed on the Cognos reports that support accurate health reporting and enrollment file submissions? Do you have questions about online health enrollment functionality? Talk with us to learn more about what your employees can do online. We can walk you through the variety of health Cognos reports available and how they can make health reconciliation, data reporting, and discrepancy resolution easier. We can also help you with the file submission process to ensure that your file is successfully submitted and error-free.

Do you handle payroll transactions? We assist employers and their payroll teams with compliant payroll reporting by reviewing reported compensation and partnering with them to resolve payroll reporting errors. Our experienced team will help you navigate through myCalPERS to resolve issues and you’ll make important contacts for any payroll-related inquiries.

Help your agency be a destination employer by expanding your knowledge of member benefits. The earlier your employees understand their earned benefits, the more prepared they’ll be to make informed decisions. Prepare yourself and your employees by learning more about:

• Your myCalPERS accounts
• Retirement estimates
• Online and instructor-led classes
• Applying for service credit
• Scheduling an appointment with a retirement benefits counselor

We can also provide information about CalPERS Benefits Education Events (CBEEs) and other resources to help educate your employees.

Do you have employees who are qualified to make an election? Learn more about various elections within CalPERS including reciprocity, optional members, state 2nd tier, and the CalPERS/CalSTRS elections. In addition, you’ll learn to identify the various options and understand which members are subject to the Public Employees' Pension Reform Act of 2013 (PEPRA).

Do you have questions about compensation reporting based on language in MOUs, collective bargaining agreements, or publicly available pay schedules? Let us help. We assist employers with resolutions of audit findings and can assist with MOU reviews to ensure language is consistent with the Public Employees’ Retirement Law (PERL) and compliant compensation reporting practices.

Do you process payroll and membership for your agency? Could you use a little technical support for your work in myCalPERS? Our team is here to help you with a variety of functions, including:

• Arrears certifications
• Cognos reports for both payroll and membership teams
• Fixing file errors in XML and CSV formats
• Identifying underutilized reports

We’ll also help you understand what type of inquiries we can assist with, how to reach out year-round, and much more.

Get answers to your myCalPERS questions. Our educators will provide hands-on demonstrations to help you use the system more efficiently when processing business transactions. We’ll walk you through resources and show you how to access our online classes and training materials.

Visit us to learn how to:

• Process retirement and health enrollments
• Report and adjust payroll records
• Reconcile health billing, appointments, and payroll
• View and pay receivables
• Maintain system access
• Generate reports and use Cognos tools

All Educational Forum attendees are strongly encouraged to visit our exhibit booth and meet the CalPERS Prefunding Program’s team to discuss the following:

• Features and benefits of prefunding Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) as well as pensions in 115 trusts
• How to establish a California Employers’ Retiree Benefit Trust (CERBT) or California Employers’ Pension Prefunding Trust (CEPPT) account
• OPEB and pension funding policy goals, trends, and considerations
• Best practices when administering your CERBT and/or CEPPT account

Have you ever wondered what would be paid out in benefits if one of your employees passed away prior to retirement? Visit our booth to learn why it’s vital to have Beneficiary Designation and Special Power of Attorney forms on file with CalPERS. You’ll also receive important information about:

• Emergency retirement counseling
• Enhancing death benefit provisions
• How to report the death of a member
• Pre-retirement death benefits

Who will handle your employees’ retirement affairs when they are no longer able to? Visit our booth to learn why it’s important for your employees to have a CalPERS Special Power of Attorney and Pre-Retirement Lump-Sum Beneficiary Designation on file to protect benefits for themselves and their loved ones. Have these documents ready to go? We’ll be accepting them and can provide a quick review to make sure they’re complete.

Are you able to answer all your employees’ questions about retirement benefits? Do you fully understand your role in the retirement process? Get the information you need to be fully prepared on issues regarding:

• Submitting estimates and retirement applications online
• Selecting a retirement date
• Reporting unused sick leave
• Multi-formulas or Classic/PEPRA calculations
• Post-retirement adjustments
• Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLA)
• The Replacement Benefit Plan (RBP)/IRC 415

Have questions about your Social Security benefits or need resources to help educate your employees? Visit with specialists from California’s State Social Security Administrator to learn about your responsibilities for both Social Security and Medicare. We are here to answer all questions and address key issues like:

• Annual information requests
• Correcting errors, reporting, and withholding Social Security and Medicare taxes
• The impact of the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset to your employees
• The terms of your Section 218 agreement

Your employees are counting on you to get their retirement calculation right. We can assist you with retirement benefit calculations by reviewing reported compensation and can support obtaining documentation from employers. We also assist employers in ensuring Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) language and pay schedules are consistent with the Public Employees’ Retirement Law (PERL) and compensation reported is compliant.

You need retired annuitants, and they need you. We are here to assist with post-retirement employment laws and ensuring compliance. We can also assist you with determining and identifying common law and independent contractor employees. Whether you want a deeper dive on the session material or need an overall refresher on the topic, we'll make sure you walk away well-informed.