Category: News

Open Recruitment for Disability Retirement Benefits Analyst

Posted on by Anikka Abbott

VCERA is pleased to open a recruitment for a Disability Retirement Benefits Analyst. This position will serve as a lead analyst within our Disability Retirement Unit, supporting our team with advanced case analysis, medical and legal records review, preparation of recommendations, and coordination of the hearing process. The position requires strong writing skills, attention to detail, and experience working with medical or legal documentation. To learn more about the job opening and to apply, click on the link below.

Payroll Title: Program Administrator III
Position Type: Full-Time
Recruitment Period: 5/27/2026 – 6/9/2026
Salary Range: $87,444.09 – $122,433.74 Annually
Job Posting: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/ventura/jobs/5352374/disability-retirement-benefits-analyst

Alameda Decision Implementation & Refunds Timeline Update

Posted on by Anikka Abbott

VCERA staff are implementing the July 2020 California Supreme Court Decision, Alameda County Deputy Sheriffs’ Association v. Alameda County Employees’ Retirement Association (2020) 9 Cal.5th 1032, 1070, commonly referred to as “Alameda.” Alameda affected the pensionability of certain pay items that VCERA had previously included in members’ pensionable earnings, which are used to calculate contributions and retirement benefits. This implementation is being executed in accordance with the latest direction received from the Board of Retirement in its Resolutions passed between October 2020 and April 2023.

TIMELINE

VCERA understands that members have questions related to the timeline of the project and when affected members may expect to receive refunds. The following factors are affecting the timeline of the project:

Initial Delay:

  • Though the Alameda Decision occurred in July 2020, VCERA’s Alameda Project did not begin until April 2023, almost three years later, due to pending legislative efforts and the County’s request for additional time to adopt the Legacy HRA benefit to address reduction in expected pension benefits related to flex credits. Litigation concerning elimination of non-cashable flex credit, standby pay and excess annual leave redemptions (“straddling”) contributed to these initial delays.

Complexity:

  • VCERA’s project is more complex and impacts a larger volume of members than other affected pension systems, resulting in significantly more historical data to validate and correct.
  • Most other affected systems primarily had standby and callback pay exclusions. In addition to those, VCERA corrections include numerous changes to flex credits, situational pay codes, and leave straddling, each requiring separate review.
  • In total, over 10,500 members are estimated to be affected by the corrections, spanning multiple employers, bargaining units, and varied pay structures and reporting practices.

Approach & Resources:

  • Due to the large volume and the need for standardization and accuracy, VCERA is automating much of its correction work.
  • While automation takes longer to build initially, it allows all corrections to be applied consistently and in a single coordinated update rather than through thousands of manual adjustments.
  • VCERA is utilizing a variety of staffing resources, including hiring fixed-term staff and external consultants.
  • VCERA is engaging the expertise of its pension administration system vendor and partnering with the County, both of which have added dedicated resources for this project.
  • Because of the number of corrections and programming changes required, VCERA is testing the results of the efforts above before finalizing corrections to ensure accuracy and enable processing all correction types to each member’s account together with the goal of having to adjust each account only once.

MEMBER IMPACT

Members are affected if they received pay items that Alameda determined should be excluded from pensionable compensation. Here are a few key points to keep in mind if you are an affected member:

  • Affected members will receive individual communication (via US mail) prior to their corrections (refunds and/or corrected retirement benefits) being processed.
  • Refunds and benefit recalculations will begin after all data corrections have been completed in member accounts.
  • Members will receive 7.9% interest on any refunds, and have options to roll their refunds over to Deferred Compensation plans, like 401(k) or 457 plans, or to other qualified plans.
  • Overpaid benefits to retirees (net of contributions refunds) will not be recouped by VCERA. Once retirement benefits are recalculated using corrected compensation, VCERA will determine any overpaid benefits and any overpaid member contributions, each with interest. If overpaid contributions exceed overpaid benefits, VCERA will refund the difference with interest. If overpaid benefits exceed overpaid contributions, VCERA will not pursue collection and no refund will be issued.
  • If your account includes a division of community property, or a service credit purchase, your refund or corrected retirement benefit may take longer to process than others. These situations require additional review or calculations to ensure the corrections are applied accurately.
  • Some affected members may be eligible for the employer-provided Legacy HRA benefit.

STAYING INFORMED

VCERA staff are providing bimonthly Alameda implementation status updates to the Board of Retirement at Board meetings. Highlights from the latest status report and general reminders include:

  • We are still working on Phase 1, which includes calculating corrections to pensionable earnings and member contributions. Remaining Phase 1 work includes final testing of system updates and validation of historical data corrections.
  • We are in the preparation stages of Phase 2, in which we will process contribution refunds with interest and calculate corrections to retirement benefits. Phase 2 cannot begin until all Phase 1 data corrections are finalized.
  • VCERA will be able to provide a more definitive timeline of corrections processing once Phase 2 work has begun.
  • View status updates on our Alameda webpage, including Alameda Decision FAQs, Leave Straddling FAQs, and information about flex credit under old and new benefit structures.

While progress is being made, the project has not yet advanced to the stage where refunds and benefit recalculations can begin. We recognize this is taking longer than anticipated and the impact this delay may have. Our team continues to work diligently, and we will provide an update as soon as we are able to share a more defined timeline. In the meantime, despite the delay in processing refunds, correction amounts payable to members will continue to accrue interest at the Board-approved rate of 7.9%. We will post additional updates to the website about its Alameda Implementation as the multi-year project progresses. To receive email alerts when updates are posted to our website, please sign up here: https://vcera.gov/vcera-website-notifications.

Appointment of Board of Retirement Alternate Public Member

Posted on by Anikka Abbott

At its April 28, 2026 meeting, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors voted to appoint Shannon Pascual to the open alternate public member position on VCERA’s Board of Retirement, effective immediately. Mr. Pascual’s term will expire on December 31, 2028.

Click below to view the Board Letter and Resolution from the Ventura County Board of Supervisors for the appointment:

Board of Supervisors Letter

Board of Supervisors Resolution

2026 Board of Retirement General Member Special Election Results

Posted on by Anikka Abbott

Election results are in for the General Member seat on the VCERA Board of Retirement. On May 1, 2026, the Ventura County Elections Division issued certified results for the special election held on April 28, 2026.

Xiaoli Cioffi received the most votes out of the 574 cast among three candidates on the ballot. The term for this seat ends on December 31, 2027.

VCERA congratulates Ms. Cioffi on her appointment to the Board of Retirement. Below are the vote totals for each candidate:

Candidate NameVotes
Ed Alamillo221
Xiaoli Cioffi282
Edwin “Eddie” Jacob71

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

Certification Letter

Certification of Election Results – General Member

Official Statement of Votes Cast

Annual Leave Redemption Limits Under New MOA Provisions

Posted on by Anikka Abbott

The County Board of Supervisors approved new Memorandums of Agreement (MOA) on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, affecting SEIU, IUOE, VCPPOA-Probation, VCSCOA, and County Management employees. The changes include increases to the number of vacation and annual leave hours redeemable for cash in future calendar years beginning in 2027. Some MOAs also increase the number of leave hours employees may accrue.

Annual leave redemption (i.e. vacation buydown) earnings are includable in compensation earnable for Legacy members. The Earnings included in a member’s Final Average Compensation (FAC) are limited to that which is both “earned and payable” in each 12 months of the member’s FAC measurement period (Government Code Section 31461(b)(2)). “Earned” refers to the number of leave hours an employee is able to accrue. “Payable” refers to the maximum cashout limit permitted by each member’s MOA. VCERA can include the lesser of these two values in the FAC.

When an MOA increases the number of leave hours an employee may cash out per year, it may increase the hours VCERA can include in the FAC. However, the higher limit only applies to years in the FAC measurement period that end after the new limit takes effect. This ensures that only hours that were actually payable during each specific year are included in FAC earnings. VCERA determines the maximum that may be included based on the MOA and the applicable calendar year limits and then includes the hours the member actually redeemed during the measurement period, up to that limit. The resulting limit applies to the entire measurement period, regardless of the calendar year in which the redemptions occurred.

Example 1 (36-month measurement period):

If your three-year (36-month) measurement period ends within 2027 and the cashout limit for 2027 increases from 100 hours to 200 hours, the FAC can include up to 400 hours of leave redemption. VCERA calculates the maximum includable annual leave redemption hours by applying 100 hours for 2025, another 100 hours for 2026, and 200 hours for 2027, for a total of 400 includable hours or the leave hours the member is eligible to accrue during those years, whichever is less. VCERA then includes only the hours you actually redeemed during the measurement period, up to that calculated limit, which applies to the entire period regardless of the year in which redemptions occurred.

Example 2 (12-month measurement period):

If you have a one-year (12-month) measurement period ending within 2027 and the cashout limit for 2027 increases from 100 hours to 200 hours, the higher cashout limit applies because the period ends after the new limit takes effect. VCERA calculates the maximum includable leave redemption for that period using the 200-hour limit or the leave hours the member is eligible to accrue during the year, whichever is less. VCERA then includes only the hours you actually redeemed during the measurement period, up to that calculated limit, which applies to the entire measurement period regardless of the year in which the redemptions occurred.

For more information about the specific provisions of your union’s current Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), please visit and search for the MOA for your bargaining unit: https://hr.venturacounty.gov/policies-memorandum.

Announcement of Candidates for Board of Retirement General Member Special Election

Posted on by Anikka Abbott

A special election for a General Member Representative on the VCERA Board of Retirement will be held on Tuesday, April 28, 2026. The elected member will serve a term commencing upon certification of the election until December 31, 2027.

The filing deadline was March 18. Three candidates submitted filings for the election:

  • Ed Alamillo, Environmental Health Technician
  • Xiaoli Cioffi, ITSD IT Manager
  • Edwin “Eddie” Jacob, Coder-Certified

Official ballot packets, with Instructions for Voting and Candidate Statements, will be distributed by U.S. mail to all eligible General members on April 6. Voted ballots, including mailed ballots, must be returned to the County Elections Office by 5:00 p.m. on April 28.

The results and official election certification will be provided to VCERA by 5:00 p.m. on April 30, and VCERA will submit the certified election results to the Board of Supervisors on May 1.

View the General Member Election Calendar, or contact us with questions.

Notice of Special Election for General Member on Board of Retirement

Posted on by Anikka Abbott

A special election for a General Member Representative on the VCERA Board of Retirement will be held on Tuesday, April 28, 2026.

Any active General member is eligible to run for the General Member Representative office. The elected member will serve a term commencing upon certification of the election until December 31, 2027.

Nomination documents can be obtained by appointment starting on March 4, 2026. To make an appointment, contact VCERA by email at vcera.info@ventura.org or by phone at (805) 339-4261. Completed nomination packets must be returned to VCERA by March 18, 2026, 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, which provides information on the election process, timeline, and how to become a candidate, or contact us with questions.