City of San José
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68℉Retirement Benefits
This website is intended to provide City employees and the public with more information regarding pension and retiree healthcare benefits and costs. The City’s retirement plans are administered by the Board of Trustees of each plan. For more information, please refer to the Department of Retirement Services’ website.
The City of San José has a defined benefit pension plan for all full-time employees and some part-time employees who previously were employed in a full-time capacity. One plan is for Police Officers and Fire Fighters called the Police and Fire Department Retirement Plan (Police and Fire). The plan for all other eligible employees is called the Federated City Employees’ Retirement System (Federated).
Calculating Pensions
A defined benefit pension plan guarantees a specific benefit to eligible employees at the time of retirement. Pension benefits are calculated based on a formula that takes into account an individual employee’s highest average annual salary and years of City service. Contributions for retirement benefits are made by both the City and employees. These contribution rates are established by each board.
The contribution rates section of this website contains historical contribution rate information as well the current rates.
Pension Information
Pension Guides
The following items provide information regarding pension plans:
- Glossary of Commonly Used Pension Terms (Excerpt from Pew Report, Promises with a Price)
- The Basics of Pension Funding (Excerpt from Pew Report, Promises with a Price)
- California Research Bureau - Actuarially Speaking: A Plain Language Summary of Actuarial Methods and Practices
Pension Benefit Average
- Federated City Employees' Retirement System
- Police and Fire Department Retirement Plan
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