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April 2006, Volume 20, Issue 3 - FACCC PT Retirement Workshop |
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By Becky Curtis
On Friday, March 24, FACCC (Faculty Association of California Community Colleges) Director of Government Affairs Jennifer Baker, and Part-time FACCC Governor at Large (North) Deborah Dahl Shanks held a very well attended FACCC workshop on part-time retirement issues.
Both Jennifer and Deborah are authorities on all the nuances and complexities of the STRS retirement programs, as well as the alternatives, such as the LARISA program which is also offered to part-timers here at SMC, and we cannot thank them enough for their time and effort. An outline of their Power Point presentation will soon be available on the SMCFA website. In the meantime, for those of you who were unable to attend the event I refer you to the May 2005 article on part-time retirement issues in the Hourly Advocate which can be accessed at www.smcfa.org/advo/advotoc.html.
Deborah spent a lot of time explaining the STRS Defined Benefit (DB) program, which is the same program used by all full timers in the system. This is the best retirement plan offered if you plan on spending a good portion of your career teaching in public education, and believe you can become vested. If you join STRS, you earn service credit for the amount of assignment you work. It takes the equivalent of five years of full time teaching to vest in the DB program, and once you vest you are set-- you will receive a pension every month after you retire.
All full-time teachers are automatically placed into the STRS DB program, but for part-time teachers it is an option– sort of. (See related article on “Sudden STRS Syndrome”). The good news for part-timers is all that teaching, including summer and winter sessions, counts toward service credit. One year is the maximum service credit that can be earned in one school year. The district
contributes 8.25% to the plan and you contribute 8%, with a portion of your unused sick leave at retirement also counting towards service credit.
Many part-time teachers, however, are enrolled in LARISA, which is a defined contribution plan. If you receive statements from MetLife you are in LARISA. Both faculty and the District contribute less money into this plan than into STRS, so the District encourages part-time faculty to join LARISA. If you are only going to be teaching a short time, or have other retirement plans, this program may be better for you, since when you retire you get all the contributions, from both employee and the employer, plus interest. If you stay in STRS but do not vest, you get only your own contributions back from STRS, plus interest.
Many faculty members wanted to know about converting from LARISA to STRS. You can request to join STRS at any time, and your contributions in your LARISA account can be rolled over into STRS, but generally you must wait two years after quitting LARISA to do so, and since the contributions into LARISA are less than into STRS, you may have to spend some money of your own to buy service credit.
The nuances and questions asked of Deborah and Jennifer were too many to relate here. You can contact the STRS website www.calstrs.com for information, forms, and statements. Or contact the STRS Ombudsman, Tom Barrett, at
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. The STRS toll free phone is 800-228-5453. You can also contact Deborah Dahl Shanks, at
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(510) 724-2631.
We also want to thank Jennifer Baker for her update on the doings in Sacramento. And remember that FA means UNION. The FA is currently bargaining for a fair contract with the district on our behalf. Be prepared to participate and to have your voices heard if the contract is not settled.
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