Retiree Health Account. The City’s Supplemental Health Account for Retired Employees (SHARE) Plan is a defined contribution health reimbursement plan, which is intended to help employees offset post-retirement healthcare costs by allowing employees to contribute pre-tax dollars from their current wages with an additional contribution from the City, into an account that can be accessed upon retirement. To be eligible for the full benefits of the SHARE Plan, an employee must reach age 55 with a total of 15 years of service with the City of Mission Viejo.
The Plan requires mandatory contributions from both the employee and the City. Contributions to the Plan will commence for an employee beginning with the first pay period that occurs after the eligible employee’s completion of one year of service with the City. Eligible employees will be required to contribute 1.5% of their salary. Deductions will be pre-tax and will be taken from each paycheck.
Starting the same date, the City contribution will be $100 per month ($50 per pay period for 24 pay periods) for full-time employees, $75 per month ($37.50 per pay period for 24 pay periods) for full-time equivalents of .750 to .999, and $50 per month ($25 per pay period for 24 pay periods) for full-time equivalents of .500 to .749, after the completion of the waiting period.
Holidays. The City observes ten (10) paid holidays, including a Winter Closure at City Hall and the Corporation Yard between December 26th and December 31st. Employees also have one (1) floating holiday per year, which is credited annually on January 1st (on the employee’s hire date in the first year) and cannot be carried-over.
Comprehensive Annual Leave. Provides employees with paid time off for rest and relaxation, personal or family illness, bereavement, and personal business. For non-exempt classifications, 19 days annual accrual during the first year, increasing to 30 days beginning in year ten, prorated based on the full-time equivalent for all part-time positions. For exempt classifications, 24 days annual accrual during the first year, increasing to 35 days beginning in year ten, prorated based on the full-time equivalent for all part-time positions.
Jury Duty Leave. Employees are granted up to 30 paid days for jury service.
Cafeteria Plan. The City offers a “cafeteria style” flexible benefits plan, with a fixed monthly contribution provided by the City for all regular and probationary full-time and part-time employees. The benefits plan is covered under Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code allowing employees to pay monthly benefit premiums on a pre-tax basis. Benefit coverage begins the first day of the month following thirty-days (30) of continuous regular employment
Medical Insurance. The City contracts with CalPERS to offer medical insurance to employees, plus their qualified dependents. There is a choice from among six plans, Blue Shield Access+ HMO, Blue Shield NetValue HMO, Kaiser, PERS Select PPO, PERS Choice PPO, and PERS Care PPO (all PPO plans are administered by Blue Cross). Employees are required to participate in the City group medical plan.
Dental Insurance. The City contracts with Delta dental for dental coverage for employees, plus their qualified dependents. There is a choice among two plans, Delta PPO and Delta Care PMI.
Vision Insurance. The City contracts with Vision Service Plan (VSP) for vision coverage for employees, plus their qualified dependents.
Life Insurance. The City contracts with ING/ReliaStar to provide term life insurance for employees in an amount equal to two (2) times the employee’s annual salary to a maximum of $300,000. The City pays the full cost of the monthly premium. If you need more than the Basic Life insurance the City provides, you may purchase additional coverage by enrolling in the Supplemental Term Life (STL) and AD&D insurance programs.
Short and Long Term Disability. The City contracts with ING/ReliaStar to provide both short and long-term disability insurance coverage to the employee, in a benefit amount up to 66% of the employee’s salary. The City pays the full cost of the monthly premium.
Flexible Spending Accounts. You can set up one Flexible Spending Account (FSA) for health care expenses and another to pay for the cost of caring for your dependents while you are at work. The Health Care Spending Account is a tax-free way to pay any qualified out-of-pocket expenses associated with medical, dental, and vision care for yourself and any family members who are legal dependents. You may contribute between $180 and $3,000, pre-tax, annually to this account. The Dependent Care Spending Account allows you to pay for child or elder care expenses on a tax-free basis. You may contribute between $300 and $5,000 annually towards this account. Both types of accounts are administered through HR Simplified.
Employee Assistant Program. The City contracts with MHN to provide short term counseling benefits, as well as life management services and referrals, to employees, their dependents, and any other members within their household. The City pays the full cost of the monthly premium.
Deferred Compensation. A non-contributory deferred compensation plan is available. There are two carriers to choose from, ICMA and Nationwide.
College Saving Plan. The City offers payroll deductions to a qualified 529 plan. This voluntary CollegeBound fund, managed by Alliance Capital, is a flexible college savings program that helps make saving for a child’s higher education easier.
Wellness Program. The City offers free membership, with some restrictions, to the City’s Recreation and Tennis Centers for employees and their resident family members.
Tuition Reimbursement. Once probation has been successfully completed, the City offers tuition reimbursement to employees for qualified classes and/or programs up to $1,250 per fiscal year, prorated based on the full-time equivalent for all part-time positions. Pre-approval by the employee’s supervisor and the City Manager is required.
Technology Loan Program. Once probation has been successfully completed, an interest-free technology loan is available to employees in an amount up to $3,500, prorated based on the full-time equivalent for all part-time positions.
Final comment. There is more to wages than the weekly paycheck.
While I fully support pension reform, linking it to increase in wages in this recession is simply not acceptable.
Thank you Larry for bringing us all the inside info on what can happen when even good ideas are misdirected.
The Cities of Tustin and Laguna Woods reported today that they also are embarking on a 2 tier Pension and Health System for new hires. As with everything else: “The devil is in the details!” Hopefully, they will embark on a policy of fiscal responsibility and oversight which includes an annual review of those policies and also a general report to the citizenry of the changes proposed and implemented.
Obviously, First Repsonders should have priority…for having their perks re-established as soon as fiscally reasonable.
Thanks again….for a good article.
Ron & Anna.
Timing is everthing. Teri Sforza’s OC Register headline and story should be given to every member of our city council before they vote tonight.
When these pension plan increases were put into place they were put in place as part of an agreement in many cases to reduce wages or in place of increases, to reduce current expenses.
I understand that any increase in this time of budget shortages is not an easy consideration, the trade off to reduce long time obligations may be worth it in the long term.
Jim. I support changing our pension program for new hires. Trish Kelley placed it on the Agenda June 21st of last year when it was a stand alone issue.
Perhaps you missed an earlier Juice post where I listed the compensation packages for our senior staff where virtually all of them were compensated well over $100,000 per year. Brian Calle is preaching to the choir when he points out that comparing yourself to other cities is not a valid yard stick. Each city follows the others as they ratchet up their wages and benefits. That in itself is not an appropriate way to establish value for services rendered.
I guess Bell is the poster child where they can report that while the packages are high they are not as high as city X or Y (which might be the city of Vernon).
http://www.calpers.ca.gov/index.jsp?bc=/member/retirement/planning/understandssoffset.xml&pst=RETIRED&pca=ST
Good story Larry. I would hope that the conversation about pension reform (a good move by the Council) would be seperated from the pay increase which is an entirely separate issue. I do find funny when each public agency conducts surveys of other “similar” public agencies as if it is a free market process. It isn’t and you do not lose out on the best and brightest for not keeping up with the idiots. Frank Rizzo makes my point.
Geoff.
I have suggested to council members to bifurcate these two issues. We shall see if Dennis recognizes whom he reports to or decides to play hard ball.
Whomever votes YES on the package can rest assured that voting for any level of pay increase will have to contend with that vote in his or her next election.
Geoff. Notice the city annual survey to make staff look good for future taxpayer funded rewards.
i.e. Our interface with the city. How many of the 100,000 residents actually have direct contact with staff, other than emails and City Outlook magazines? They tie all forms of communication together to paint a bogus picture.
Oh Geoff, NOW you opened up a can of worms bringing up FRANK Rizzo (of the Jerky Boys) instead of Bell’s ROBERT Rizzo. Here’s Frank:
Just don’t say “Saul Rosenberg.”
Sorry, too many bath salts and goats.
Welcome to the big, distracting, liberal world!
Geoff.
Cathy did get Frank to bifurcate the two issues. Bottom line the two tier pension was just passed 5-0.
See part one for my update on the compensation issue.