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Jan 5, 2015

Take Notice of New Laws Affecting CalPERS Members in 2015

Posted: 1/5/2015

Several Assembly and Senate Bills that could impact CalPERS members made their way through the California Legislature in 2014. One of the most important bills signed into law may affect your retirement benefit decisions, while others will work to protect benefits and strengthen the pension system and health benefits program.

AB 2472 (Committee on PERS) allows members, when they are newly retired, to change their survivor benefit option election if CalPERS receives their request within 30 days of the issuance of their first retirement payment, rather than before the receipt of the first check.

AB 1163 (Levine) reflect the Board’s ongoing commitment that its Board members possess the education and training necessary to ensure the sustainability of our retirement, health, and other benefit plans. These education requirements match the education and training policy that the Board has been working on for several years.

SB 1182 (Leno) and SB 1340 (Hernandez) will improve CalPERS’ access to health care cost information, so that health care purchasers can better identify cost drivers and possibly negotiate lower health benefit rates, therefore improving health plan transparency.

SB 1251 (Huff) provides a narrow exemption to the Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013 (PEPRA) for the Cities of Brea and Fullerton in Orange County. The bill allows these cities to form a new joint powers authority (JPA) and provide the retirement benefit formulas currently provided by the cities, rather than reduced PEPRA formulas. Without this exemption, the cities argue that they could not transfer existing city employees to the new JPA.

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Jan 4, 2015

Open to the Public! Come to the ACSS Board Meeting.

Posted: 1/4/2014

The ACSS Board of Directors will meet on Saturday January 17th from 9:00 am - 5:00 pm at the Hilton San Diego Mission Valley at 901 Camino Del Rio South in San Diego. This meeting is open to the public. You are invited to come and participate in the meeting. For more details, view the ACSS Events Calendar.

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Dec 31, 2014

For the New Year, make a resolution to take advantage of these great insurance benefits!

Posted: 12/31/2014

In addition to representation and political action, members are also eligible for a wide range of low-cost group-rate insurance benefits. For the new year, make it a resolution to reassess your insurance situation and make sure you and your family (an even your pets) are covered in case something happens. ACSS provides the following insurance plans at discounted group rates:

  • Accident Protection
  • Group Life Insurance
  • Emergency Assistance
  • Disability
  • Long Term Care
  • Pet Insurance
  • Discount Prescription Card
  • Hearing Care Plan
  • Final Expenses

Visit ACSS's Member Benefits to learn more about these fantastic insurance plans available to you. In 2015, make sure you and your loved ones are covered. 

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Dec 19, 2014

ACSS Holiday Hours

Posted: 12/19/2014

ACSS' holiday hours for this week and next week are as follows:

Wednesday 12/24/14 -- 8am - 1pm
Thursday 12/25/14 -- ACSS CLOSED
Friday 12/26/14 -- ACSS CLOSED

Thursday 1/1/15 -- ACSS CLOSED
Friday 1/2/15 -- ACSS CLOSED

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Dec 17, 2014

CalPERS Urges Prefunding of Retiree Healthcare

Posted: 12/17/2014

CalPERS has joined State Controller John Chiang in supporting prefunded healthcare plans for California retirees to supplement future health care needs. Chiang, who is also a member of the CalPERS Board of Administration, issued a press release on 12/16/14 noting a $71.8 billion unfunded retiree healthcare liability for California.

Prefunding retiree healthcare is a fiscally prudent move to help close the unfunded liability gap in health care for the State’s retirees. CalPERS optional California Employers' Retiree Benefit Trust (CERBT) Fund is helping employers at all levels take a proactive step to ensure the long-term sustainability and security of health benefits for their retirees.

The fund has 439 participating employers, including the State of California, which contributes for (three) employee bargaining units that took the proactive step of agreeing to prefund health coverage for their members. The CERBT fund is currently valued at more than $4 billion and is currently the largest Other Post-Employment Benefits fund in the California.

View the CalPERS Press Release here with additional information links.

View the State Controller Chaing's Press Release.

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Dec 12, 2014

Come to ACSS' First Worksite Meeting in Southern California!

Posted: 12/12/2014

Have lunch and learn with ACSS' new Member Outreach Organizer in Southern California, Maureen Douglas. On Thursday, December 18th, she will be visitin CalVet in Los Angeles in Fourth Floor Dining Room of Building D at 11500 Nimitz Avenue from 11:00am – 1:00pm. Come and learn more about ACSS, your rights as an excluded employee and hear about the issues ACSS is working on that matter to you.

Lunch will be provided to current and potential members. Please RSVP so we can ensure we have an adequate amount of food. Come by on your break or lunch!

RSVP NOW! before Wednesday December 17th.

Click here for more details about this event.

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Dec 8, 2014

CalPERS Public Pension Study

Posted: 12/8/2014

CalPERS releases a study by the National Institute on Retirement Security entitled, "Still a Better Bang for the Buck." This was an update on the Economic Efficiencies of Defined Benefit Pensions. Download the study here (PDF, 3MB). In addition, here is a web address where you can access this same study:

http://www.nirsonline.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=71&Itemid=61

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Dec 5, 2014

January ACSS Board Meeting is Coming Up Soon!

Posted: 12/5/2014

Attention all members: The ACSS board meeting in San Diego is drawing near on January 16-17th, 2015. The board meeting will give us all the chance to come together and evaluate our progress and plan for moving ahead as the state's largest association representing state supervisors, managers, and confidential employees.  Check the Events Calendar for the link to the hotel and details on the tentative agenda.

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Nov 21, 2014

Get Your ACSS Chapter Election Nominations in the Hopper!

Posted: 11/21/2014

Want to nominate yourself or someone else for a Chapter officer position , but you can't make it to your Chapter's Open Nominations meeting? No problem! Just make sure that you submit your nomination for yourself or someone else in writing by the date of the Chapter's Open Nominations meeting date.

Nominations can be submitted by:

  • Email to acss@ACSS.org
  • Email to your Chapter’s President
  • Written letter mailed to ACSS Headquarters, postmarked by your Chapter’s Open Nomination meeting date
  • Being present at your Chapter’s Open Nominations meeting and verbally nominating yourself or someone else during the meeting
  • Faxed to ACSS Headquarters at (916) 326-4364
  • Submitting a Candidate Consent Form

If you don’t nominate yourself or someone else by the date of your Chapter’s Open Nominations meeting, then your nomination will NOT be on the ballot for the 2015 election. Official candidate consent forms can be submitted later than the date of the Chapter Open Nomination meeting.

To find out the date of your meeting, check the ACSS Events Calendar .

Your Chapter needs you! Stand up and lead the state’s largest and most experienced organization dedicated to helping your fellow managers, supervisors, and excluded state employees. Positions in the following seats need to be filled:

  • Chapter President
  • Chapter Vice President
  • Chapter Secretary/Treasurer
  • DELEGATE to Delegate Assembly
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Nov 19, 2014

“Stubborn, Persistent” Mayor Chuck Reed Attacks Pensions Once Again

Posted: 11/19/2014

It is unfortunate news to ACSS that San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed is once again ramping up his unreasonable efforts to attack pensions in statewide initiatives planned for 2016.

CalPERS comments that changes to the pension benefit levels should be determined by the employer and the employees, not at the ballot box. It is painful for unions and workers that local governments move motions based on the special interests that paid them to get them in office.

Reed argues that the number of CalPERS retirees with six-figure pensions has tripled since 2006 and pension debt for local governments is expected to increase by as much as fifty percent over the next five years. Reed contends that something has to give. Reed says, “For me, it is unfinished business. I am stubborn, persistent, whatever you want to call it.”

Reed mentions that the retirees are the folks that should have the least impact because they are already retired. And he goes on to focus fiscal pension reform on current employees because they have the most capacity to earn. “The younger employees understand that it’s something that’s not sustainable and they are the ones who are going to get hurt.” says Reed.

What are your thoughts on this issue as supervisors, managers and excluded employees? Comment on this article.

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