SamCERA will be closed from December 25-January 1 for the Holidays and Winter Recess.
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year from SamCERA!
Category: General
2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR)
The 2024 ACFR has been approved by the Board of Retirement. This report provides detailed information about SamCERA’s finances, investments, and the pension plan’s funding status including assets, liabilities, and funded ratio. The report is provided here for your convenience and available online.
SamCERA’s New CEO
Scott Hood has been named Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the San Mateo County Employees’ Retirement Association (SamCERA), effective Nov. 9, 2014. He succeeds David Bailey, who will retire in early 2015.
Since 2002, Hood served as SamCERA’s Assistant Executive Officer (AEO), managing the benefits, finance, information technology, communications and administrative staff of the association. Prior to becoming AEO, he served as SamCERA’s Information Technology Manager for two years.
Hood said, “I am both humbled and honored that the Board has chosen me to be the next leader of such an outstanding organization. I look forward to working with the Board of Trustees and all stakeholders to maintain SamCERA’s high level of performance, while building for the future.”
Bailey added, “I’m happy to see Scott recognized for his contributions to SamCERA’s past successes and glad he will have the opportunity to lead the association to many more.”
Hood holds a BS in Engineering from the US Military Academy and an MS in Computer Information Systems from Boston University. Last year, he completed his military career as a US Army Reserve Colonel after serving over 30 years of combined active and reserve service. His military career includes deployments to Bosnia, Iraq and Djibouti where he served in various leadership roles with multi-national teams working on elections, media relations and operations planning.
The nationwide recruitment for SamCERA’s new CEO concluded in September when the Retirement Board chose Hood by unanimous vote.
SamCERA is a tax-qualified retirement plan providing retirement, disability and death benefits for its eligible members and beneficiaries. The association holds more than $3 billion in trust for pension benefits, and pays more than $150 million each year in benefit payments and refunds. Based in Redwood City, California, SamCERA’s 21 employees serve more than 10,000 active, retired and inactive members and their beneficiaries.
Retirees: 2023 Tax Forms Are Available Now
1099-R tax forms will be mailed by January 31, 2024 to the addresses we have on record for retirees. This form contains information about reportable income and taxable income from SamCERA for 2023. It will also reflect the amount of federal and California taxes that have been withheld, if any.
Access Your 1099-R Online
Your 1099-R is available online to view and print in the MySamCERA member portal.
After logging in, click on “Your Plan” in the navigation menu, then click on 1099R Tax Information, and from there you have the option to view or print a copy of current and past 1099-Rs.
MySamCERA – Upcoming Scheduled Maintenance
We will be using this time for scheduled maintenance on the member portal and mobile app, and we appreciate your patience and understanding. If you have questions, please email samcera@samcera.org.
Important Dates and Information About the New 2023 W4-P
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) revised the W4-P federal tax withholding form in 2022. SamCERA will begin using the new IRS W4-P forms, which are for periodic payments only, on January 1, 2023.
If you need to make new withholding elections or make a change to your current elections, it is important to use the correct form based on your submission date to prevent delays with your withholding elections.
Submitted By 12/15/22: Please continue using the 2021 W4-P form for all tax withholding submissions/changes. SamCERA will reject any 2021 forms received on or after 12/16/22.
Submitted On or After 12/16/22: Please use the new 2022 or 2023 W4-P form for all tax withholding submissions/changes. SamCERA will reject all other forms submitted on or after 12/16/22. Please note, SamCERA will not be able to process any 2023 W4-P withholding elections until 1/1/23.
For more information, see the Tax Information page of the website which includes links to the current form to use and additional information about tax withholdings.
Retirees, join us at SamCERA on June 5th to learn all about your MySamCERA account
Location: SamCERA Boardroom 100 Marine Parkway, Suite 160 Redwood City, CA 94065
Date: Wednesday, June 5, 2024
Time: 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Join us at SamCERA on Wednesday, June 5th to learn all about your MySamCERA account and how to manage your pension.
Learn how to:
- Register for a new account
- View & print your 1099-R
- Generate a pension income verification letter
- Explore features on your MySamCERA account
Questions?
If you have any questions, please email samcera@samcera.org.
2023 Service Purchase Schedule
Depending on your circumstances, you may be eligible to purchase service credit that can count toward your total years of service and may increase your retirement benefit.
Purchase Request forms may be submitted for the purchase of Extra Help time, Plan 3 and Plan 5 service upgrades, certain military leave, unpaid sick leave, and parental leave. Returning SamCERA members can also make a Purchase Request for a redeposit of withdrawn funds.
SamCERA members have two separate periods of time during 2023 to make service purchases. The process starts when the member submits a Purchase Request form.
First Period
- SamCERA begins processing Purchase Request forms: February 1, 2023
- Deadline to submit Purchase Request Form: April 28, 2023
- Deadline for all money to be received by SamCERA with agreement: June 1, 2023
Second Period
- SamCERA begins processing Purchase Request forms: August 1, 2023
- Deadline to submit Purchase Request Form: October 31, 2023
- Deadline for all money to be received by SamCERA with agreement: December 7, 2023
You can find a copy of the SamCERA Purchase Request form on the SamCERA forms page.
Contact SamCERA for more information about service purchases.
Empower (formerly known as Mass Mutual) Plan-to-Plan Transfer
The 2023 deadlines to submit the Empower Plan-to-Plan Transfer to Purchase Service Credit form to San Mateo County Human Resources are:
- May 18, 2023 by 12:00 PM (PST)
- November 16, 2023 by 12:00 PM (PST)
For more information about an Empower Plan-to-Plan transfer, please contact benefits@smcgov.org.
MySamCERA – Scheduled Maintenance
We appreciate your patience and understanding as we use this time to upgrade the portal to give our members a better online experience. If you have questions, please email samcera@samcera.org.
Office Closed on Wednesday, 6/22
For assistance during this temporary office closure, please contact us by phone at 650-599-1234 or by email at samcera@samcera.org.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.