Whether you are close to retirement or planning for the distant future, it is important to know what you need to do before retirement and what you should expect when retirement comes. I can tell you about all of that!
My name is Michael and I have been retired from Burbank since 2022. I was a BMA member and also on the BMA Board. After planning for retirement, then retiring, I accumulated a lot of knowledge that I thought would be great to share with you. After discussing with the BMA Board, they thought it would be a great idea for me to write a few articles about retirement in CalPERS.
Did you know if you choose to continue with your CalPERS medical plan into retirement the City will give you some money to pay for it each month?
Did you know you get a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) annually?
Did you know you can still work while retired? Even full time at some government agencies?
There is so much to cover about retirement. I will be splitting this article up into multiple parts. By the time you are done reading them, you should be set with retiring from Burbank or another CalPERS agency. So let’s get started with two topics for this Part 1.
CalPERS Special Power of Attorney
You need to appoint a person as your special power of attorney. A CalPERS special power of attorney allows you to designate a representative or agent, known as your attorney-in-fact, to conduct your retirement affairs should you become unable to act on your own behalf.
The CalPERS power of attorney is a special power of attorney because it only authorizes your attorney-in-fact to handle your CalPERS retirement affairs.
Having a special power of attorney on file with CalPERS ensures that your designated attorney-in-fact will be able to perform important duties concerning your CalPERS business, such as address changes, federal or state tax withholding elections, lost or stolen retirement checks, endorsing checks, beneficiary designations, or retirement benefit elections.
If you have not filled out the CalPERS Special Power of Attorney form, do it now … before you get hit by a bus!
Social Security Windfall Elimination Provision & Government Pension Offset
Not all CalPERS members have the same access to Social Security benefits during retirement. Those benefits depend on whether your employer withheld Social Security taxes from your salary. Those who didn’t have Social Security taxes withheld are often called “non-covered” positions. The “non-covered” positions exist at both the state and local government level in California.
Burbank does not take out Social Security from your paycheck, so you are “non-covered”.
Prior to January 6, 2025, “non-covered” members were subject to a federal law that could reduce their Social Security benefits, known as the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). The law limited benefits for anyone in a “non-covered” position unless they had 30 or more years of “substantial earnings” from a different job where Social Security taxes had been collected. Basically it reduced what you received from Social Security.
Be aware that Social Security has no impact on your CalPERS pension. The WEP has to do with what amount of Social Security you will get when retired.
The WEP was repealed by the Social Security Fairness Act, signed into law on January 6, 2025. The new law is retroactive to retiree benefits paid in 2024, but it is currently unclear how long it will take the Social Security Administration to fully implement its provisions.
So what about the Government Pension Offset?
The Social Security Fairness Act also rescinded a federal law known as the Government Pension Offset (GPO). This law applied to those who receive a government pension that is based on employment not covered by Social Security, and you are eligible for your spouse or your surviving spouse’s Social Security benefits. Basically your surviving spouse had the Social Security reduced too if their job did not take out Social Security.
The GPO provisions did not impact members whose employment has always been covered by Social Security.
As with the repeal of the WEP, some retired members are likely to see additional benefits paid once the Social Security Administration determines how best to implement the change.
So in summary, there is no more WEP and GPO, so you and your spouse will receive your full Social Security benefits when eligible while receiving CalPERS retirement.
That is it for Part 1. Read on in Part 2!
Burbank Management Association 