Depending on where you are in life, you might be thinking about where you will be at the end of the day or at the end of your career. When planning your retirement options, we want to make sure we offer generous plans with many choices, so no matter where you are in your life, you can find a plan that works for you.

We are part of the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS). Instead of participating in Social Security, CalOptima employees contribute seven percent (7%) of their pre-tax earnings to their CalPERS account. CalOptima also makes an employer's contribution based on the employee's regular earnings. This is a defined benefit retirement plan in which the retirement benefit is based on the employee's years of service, final/highest compensation, and age at retirement. Regular, full-time employees become vested in the plan after five years of service.

A voluntary 457 Deferred Compensation Plan is also offered. Section 457 plans are available to public agencies and are similar to 401(k) plans in the private sector. The employee determines the amount of pay they wish to contribute, via payroll deductions, on a pre-tax basis. The employee determines from a selection of options how their money will be invested. The plan is portable, so it may be “rolled over” to most other retirement plans.