Author: Anikka Abbott

VCERA’s annual benefit statements as of December 31, 2024, as well as information about the Alameda Decision, were mailed to all active VCERA members on March 28, 2025. If you have any questions about your statement or the Alameda Fact Sheet, please contact VCERA at (805) 339-4250 or vcera.info@ventura.org.

This year, unlike prior years, VCERA’s participating employers chose not to include Deferred Compensation information from Fidelity on VCERA’s annual benefit statement. Please contact the County of Ventura at Deferred.Compensation@ventura.org for this information.

VCERA is pleased to open a recruitment for a Retirement Accounting Technician. This position will be responsible for complex bookkeeping, accounts payable, fiscal data evaluation and analysis, fiscal monitoring, summarizing financial transactions for annual reports, and other accounting functions for VCERA. To learn more about the job opening and to apply, click on the link below.

Payroll Title: Senior Accounting Technician
Position Type: Full-Time
Recruitment Period: 3/19/2025 – 4/2/2025
Salary Range: $61,850.10 – $86,590.15 Annually
Job Posting: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/ventura/jobs/4849277/retirement-senior-accounting-technician-cc

The 2025 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for eligible retirees, beneficiaries, and other payees with a retirement date of April 1, 2025 or earlier will be reflected in retirement benefit payments on April 30, 2025:

• Safety retirees and General Tier 1* retirees: 3.0%

The COLA awarded to Safety retirees and General Tier 1 (Legacy) retirees is based on the year-over-year change (as of December) in the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim region. If the CPI change, after being rounded to the nearest half percent, is more than the 3.0% COLA maximum, the excess will be “banked” and applied to a COLA in a future year when the annual CPI change is less than 3.0%. The regional CPI change from December 2023 to December 2024 was 3.5% after rounding. The Board of Retirement approved the 3.0% COLA at its meeting on February 24, 2025.

• General Tier 2 and Tier 8* retirees (eligible SEIU and CNA service**): 2.0%

The COLA awarded to eligible General Tier 2 (Legacy) and Tier 8 (PEPRA) retirees represented by SEIU or CNA is 2.0%. This percentage is not subject to CPI changes. The 2.0% General Tier 2 and Tier 8 COLA increases are automatic under the terms of the Board of Retirement Regulation and applicable labor agreements, and require no additional Board approval. For SEIU retirees, this applies to any eligible service rendered on or after March 16, 2003 (for retirements on or after March 13, 2005). For CNA retirees, this applies to any eligible service rendered on or after June 25, 2023.

If you would like to learn more about VCERA’s annual COLAs, click here or contact VCERA.

*For more information about benefit tiers, click here.
**SEIU is the Service Employees International Union. CNA is the California Nurses Association.

On January 5, 2025, former President Biden signed the Social Security Fairness Act into law, after it was passed by the Senate in December and House in November.

The legislation eliminates the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO.) It will stop the reduction of Social Security benefits for certain retirees who receive public pensions. Additionally, a provision that reduced social security benefits for surviving spouses and family of pensioners was also eliminated.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) will recalculate benefits for those affected by the WEP and GPO. Payments will be retroactive to December 2023.

This law does not impact or change any members’ VCERA retirement benefits. Only Social Security (SS) benefits are impacted, and only people who receive a pension based on work not covered by Social Security may see changes to their SS benefits. While most VCERA members participate in Social Security and are therefore not affected by the new law, there are several bargaining groups, such as Law Enforcement and Fire Suppression (Safety members), that are not subject to Social Security.

If you are an affected retiree, the SSA will contact you, or you can visit www.ssa.gov for more information.

VCERA is pleased to open a recruitment for a Retirement Benefits Manager. This position will assist the Chief Operations Officer (COO) in supervising professional-level specialized Retirement operations staff, including providing training to staff and ensuring departmental compliance with state, federal, and county regulations and policies. To learn more about the job opening and to apply, click on the link below.

Payroll Title: Retirement Benefits Manager II/III
Position Type: Full-Time Regular
Recruitment Period: 2/18/2025 – 3/4/2025
Salary Range: $94,952.16 – $142,613.65 Annually
Job Posting: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/ventura/jobs/4819992/retirement-benefits-manager-ii-iii

Election results are in for the General Member and Alternate Safety Member seats on the VCERA Board of Retirement. On February 5, 2025, the Ventura County Elections Division issued certified results for the election held on February 3, 2025. The following are the winning candidates, who will be completing the remaining portion of the three-year terms for each seat.

For the General Member election, Jordan Roberts received the most votes out of the 708 cast among five candidates on the ballot. The term for this seat ends on December 31, 2027.

For the Alternate Safety Member seat, only one individual filed nomination documents. Therefore, per Government Code section 31523, an election was not held and the clerk cast a unanimous ballot in favor of the candidate, Ryan Resnick. The term for this seat ends on December 31, 2026.

VCERA congratulates these individuals on their appointments to the Board of Retirement. Below are the vote totals for each candidate:

General Member Election
Candidate Name                    Votes
Susan White Wood                  81
Roy Morris                               31
Derek Fouarge                        156
Liza R. Rocha                           203
Jordan Roberts                        231

Click below to view the Certifications of Election Results and the Official Statements of Votes Cast for each election:

Certification Letter
Certification of Election Results – General Member
Official Statement of Votes Cast
Appointment of Alternate Safety Member

Form 1099-Rs reporting the 2024 retirement earnings of retirees and other VCERA payees were mailed on January 28, 2025. The 1099-Rs are also available in Member Portal accounts. Members are encouraged to consult a qualified tax preparer with questions about their 2024 taxable income.

For more information, click here for an explanation of how to read your 1099-R. For information regarding income tax, click here.

VCERA is pleased to open a recruitment for a Retirement Accountant. This position will be responsible for fiscal monitoring, accounting control, budget compilation and projection, financial statement development, and other accounting functions for VCERA. To learn more about the job opening and to apply, click on the link below.

Payroll Title: Accountant II/Senior
Position Type: Full-Time
Recruitment Period: 12/5/24-12/27/24
Salary Range: $71,132.40 – $109,543.91 Annually
Job Posting: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/ventura/jobs/4715387/retirement-accountant-ii-mb-senior-accountant-mb

An election for a General Member Representative and a special election for an Alternate Safety Member Representative on the VCERA Board of Retirement will be held on February 3, 2025.

Any active General member is eligible to run for the General Member Representative office. The elected member will serve a 3-year term from January 1, 2025 until December 31, 2027.

Only Safety members in the Fire Suppression group, including Airport Operations Officers and Harbor Patrol Officers, are eligible for the Alternate Safety Member office. The elected member will serve from the date of certification of election results until December 31, 2026.

Nomination documents can be obtained by appointment starting on December 2, 2024, in the County Elections Office or by emailing campaign.finance@ventura.org. To make an appointment, visit www.venturavote.org. Completed nomination packets must be returned to the Elections Office by December 9, 2024, at 5 p.m.

Serving on the VCERA Board of Retirement offers a unique opportunity to shape the future of retirement security for thousands of dedicated public employees in Ventura County. As a Board member, you will play an important role in reviewing VCERA’s investments, policies, and long-term sustainability, helping to provide essential lifetime benefits to those who have served our community.

View the General Member Election Notice and Calendar, or the Alternate Safety Member Special Election Notice and Calendar, which provide information on the election process, timeline, and how to become a candidate, or contact us with questions.