The Sacramento County Employees’ Retirement System (SCERS) continues to offer the Retirement Planning Seminars for its members. These popular seminars include a half-day “Beginning” seminar for members who are early in their careers, as well as a full-day seminar for those members who are “Advanced” in their careers or close to retirement.

SCERS offers a Beginning Retirement Planning Seminar for members who are early in their career and more than 10 years away from retirement. Dates for 2009 are Monday, May 18 and Friday, October 9. Program materials from a recent Beginning seminar are available to you below. View the Program Agenda for topics to be discussed at the next Beginning Retirement Planning Seminar.

• Estate Planning
• Financial Planning (not available for viewing)
• 457 Deferred Compensation Plan
• Understanding Benefits and Planning for Retirement

Advanced Retirement Planning Seminars are tailored to members who are within 10 years of retirement. The remaining dates for 2009 will be Friday, August 7 and Monday, November 16. To register for the August 7 seminar, complete and return the Registration Form. View the Program Agenda for the topics that will be discussed at the upcoming seminar. Presentations from a recent Advanced Retirement Planning Seminar are below.

• Preparing for Retirement from SCERS – Important Information, Questions, and Decisions for “Advanced” Career Members
• Estate Planning Basics
• Social Security – There When You Need It 
• Financial Planning – 5 Years Away (not available for viewing)
• 457 Deferred Compensation Plan
• Employee Benefits Office

Retirement Planning Seminars are scheduled on weekdays. The Beginning Retirement Planning Seminar is designed for members who are more than ten years away from retirement. The Beginning session will last approximately four hours. The Advanced Retirement Planning Seminar is designed for members who are within ten years of retirement. The Advanced session will last the entire business day.

The County of Sacramento Personnel Policies & Procedures authorizes paid time off to attend retirement planning seminars sponsored by SCERS if the employee meets certain eligibility conditions. Specifically, Section L-6 “Time Off to Attend Retirement Planning Program” provides:

2.1 Release time may be authorized only for employees who, as of the date of the seminar, already meet the minimum eligibility requirements for a service retirement from the Sacramento County Employees' Retirement System. For employees who are members of the miscellaneous retirement system, the minimum requirements usually are ten years of service and age 50. For safety members, the minimum is ten years of service and age 50, or 20 years of service at any age.

Employees may access the policy directly, or visit their Department’s human resources coordinator to obtain information about the policy and how it is administered within their department.