Category: Newsroom

As you prepare to file your taxes, here’s how to obtain your 2022 Tax Form 1099-R information:

Online beginning the week of January 31, 2023

You may view and/or print a copy of your 1099-R tax form by logging into your MyLAFPP portal. Click here to access your MyLAFPP portal. 

Mailed on January 31, 2023

If you prefer to wait for a hardcopy of your 1099-R tax form, it will be mailed to your address on file via U.S. mail on January 31, 2023. Please allow up to 10 business days to receive your 1099-R by mail. If you have not received your 1099-R form by February 15, 2023, please contact the Accounting Section at (213) 279-3040 or (844) 88-LAFPP ext. 3040.

Some members may receive more than one 1099-R tax form in a year. Here are some of the possible reasons: 

1. You exited DROP and received the proceeds of your DROP account via a rollover, a lump-sum cash distribution, and received at least one monthly pension check in the same year. In this case you would receive a total of three 1099-Rs. One 1099-R for the DROP rollover (Distribution Code G), one 1099-R for the DROP lump-sum (Distribution Code 2), and one 1099-R for monthly pension payments (also Distribution Code 2).
2. You have a non-tax dependent covered on your LAFPP-subsidized health insurance plan (e.g., domestic partner or child of a domestic partner). This 1099-R would have a Distribution Code 9.
3. Your IRS tax distribution code changed during the year (i.e., when member attains age 59 ½ by June of the same year). You would receive two 1099-Rs, one for when you were under 59.5 years old (Distribution Code 2) and another for when you were over 59.5 years old (Distribution Code 7).
4. You received pension payments based on your City service and from a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO) (Distribution Code 2) or as a beneficiary (Distribution Code 4).

What does each box represent on the 1099-R? 

Need to make changes to your income tax withholdings?

Make them electronically through the MyLAFPP Portal! You can make your changes in 6 easy steps:

1. Access MyLAFPP
2. Click Retiree Benefits 
3. Click Tax Withholding 
4. Click Update Pension Tax Withholding Instructions
5. Fill in all the information. Please fill in all the information even if you are only changing either Federal or State of California withholdings. 
6. Click Submit

IMPORTANT NOTE: In addition to Federal taxes, LAFPP is responsible for tax withholding only in the State of California. Since LAFPP does not have an operating business presence in other states, we do not offer tax withholding for states other than California. If you reside outside the State of California, no state taxes will be withheld. The State tax withheld (Box 14) and State distribution (Box 16) on your Form 1099-R will be populated with $0.00. 

Tax year 2022 1099-Rs: The State/Payer’s State No. (Box 15) will continue to reflect the LAFPP Tax ID CA/800-7968-4 regardless of your state of residence. Box 15 is an administrative 1099-R field for California payers.

For questions, please contact the Retirement Services Section at (213) 279-3125 or (844) 88-LAFPP, ext. 3125.

MyLAFPP, our member self-service platform, will be undergoing routine maintenance. The site will be unavailable on Saturday, November 6, 2021 from 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. PST and access may be intermittent throughout the day.

We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for understanding. 

Take me to MyLAFPP!

In January 2022, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released a new 2022 Form W-4P – Withholding Certificate for Periodic Pension or Annuity Payments and a new 2022 Form W-4R – Withholding Certificate for Nonperiodic Payments and Eligible Rollover Distributions.

Use of the new forms was optional for tax year 2022 but LAFPP is required to use them beginning January 1, 2023.

Note for California State Tax Withholding

The revised Form W-4P must be used for federal tax withholding only and may no longer be used for California state tax withholding. The California Franchise Tax Board has not updated its form, DE 4P – Withholding Certificate for Pension or Annuity Payments. As such, LAFPP has created a new form for pensioners to elect or make changes to California state tax withholding.

This form is available for download from the LAFPP website https://lafpp.lacity.gov/members_information/retired-member-forms.

Form Submission Deadlines

If you plan to submit changes to your federal and/or California state tax withholding, please adhere to the following guidelines:

• The revised IRS Form W-4P for federal tax withholding and the new LAFPP California State Income Tax Withholding Form must be used to elect federal and California state tax withholding if effective on or after January 1, 2023. 
• Changes to federal tax withholding submitted electronically via MyLAFPP on or after December 16, 2022 will be submitted under the new Form W-4P, that is effective January 1, 2023.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

LAFPP remains focused and committed to keeping member data/information safe and secure. As more and more members conduct business online, we recognize the increased need to manage cybersecurity risks and have adopted a strategic cybersecurity initiative to mitigate those risks.

How does LAFPP protect you?

• LAFPP frequently conducts network vulnerability assessment testing and institutes best practices in securing member data;  
• Conducts periodic department-wide staff training; and,  
• Makes continuous enhancements to our cybersecurity program to improve and defend against cyber-attacks, including implementation of a 2-Factor Authentication (2FA) member portal login. 

What can you do to secure your LAFPP information?

Protecting your information is a shared responsibility and cybersecurity starts with you. Here are some tips to protect your personal information with LAFPP:

MyLAFPP

• Register online to view and maintain your personal information through the MyLAFPP member web portal. 
• Keep your contact information up to date to receive timely notices in the event that we may need to reach you. Download forms to update your information from our website or submit a change request via the member portal.  
• Utilize strong passwords by creating passwords that use a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and special characters. Consider a password manager to help create and track passwords. It is advisable not to share, reuse, or repeat passwords.  

Direct Deposit

• Consider enrolling in direct deposit, which saves time and is more secure than paper checks. 
• Check with your bank and confirm that your monthly pension is being deposited regularly.  
• Contact LAFPP if you are not receiving your monthly itemized pension statement, which is mailed to your address on file. 
• Update your bank account and tax withholding information by downloading forms from our website or utilizing MyLAFPP. 

Contacting LAFPP

• Do not include any personally identifiable information (PII) in your email messages, such as Social Security numbers, dates of birth, driver’s license numbers, or addresses. 
• Consider encrypting your emails before sending to LAFPP, especially when attaching files for Health Insurance Premium Reimbursement (HIPR) requests. 
• For enhanced security during phone calls, staff will confirm your identity by requesting your date of birth, mailing address, last 4 digits of your Social Security Number, and a security question known only to you.  

Reminder: LAFPP will never initiate a phone call, email, or text message to request your MyLAFPP login credentials or any other personal information.

Do not respond to phone calls or click on links requesting your personal information. When in doubt, contact LAFPP directly by dialing (213) 279-3000 or (844) 88-LAFPP or by sending an email to pensions@lafpp.com.

The City of Los Angeles Retirement Incentive Pay (RIP) is a program developed by the City and sworn labor unions to allow sworn employees who are retiring or entering DROP to include deferred salary increases as part of their pension benefit calculation or to apply toward their accrued leave (sick/vacation/overtime) payout at the time of retirement. 

To read about the details of the program, the CAO has created a website where you can find the FAQ and supporting documents. Please visit the site at:
https://cao.lacity.org/RIP/

LAFPP does not administer the RIP program. For any questions regarding the RIP program, please visit the website above, contact your union, or send an email to CAO representatives at RIP.CAO@lacity.org. For any questions regarding how the RIP bonus may affect your pension, please contact the DROP/Service Pensions Section at (213) 279-3100 or via email at dropsp@lafpp.com.

LAFPP is reporting a return of 3.04% for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020, as assets totaled over $23.​5 billion at the year-end. This positive return follows the historic stock market decline in the first quarter of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent recovery during the second quarter of 2020. The 3.04% return exceeded LAFPP’s target allocation index of 2.50% by 54 basis points. Investment returns were led by LAFPP’s strong performance in the domestic ​equities and fixed income markets, which generated returns of 4.79% and ​10.26%, respectively.

The 3.04% return is below the Fund’s new actuarial assumed rate of return of 7.00%, which is the long-term return required to meet current and future obligations for members. Our 10-year investment return is ​9.05%, and the 20-year return is ​5.85%. LAFPP has a long-term investment horizon and uses an asset allocation which encompasses a strategic long-term perspective of the capital markets.

LAFPP is one of the largest public safety pension funds in the U.S. The Plan administers retirement and health subsidy benefits for over 26,000 current and retired public safety employees and their beneficiaries for the City of Los Angeles. More information is available at About LAFPP.

Despite the global challenges of the past year, LAFPP’s assets under management now exceed $30 billion. This turnaround is remarkable given the market volatility over the past year. As of June 1, 2021, the unaudited market value of the fund is over $30 billion, which is up from $22.5 billion just one year ago. Since May 2020, assets have grown approximately 33.4% during the one-year period.

Tom Lopez, Chief Investment Officer, stated, “The investments in domestic stocks were the main driver of the significant increase. It has been a remarkable 12 months in terms of market volatility.”

“Congratulations on our retiring CIO, Tom Lopez on achieving this milestone that will pay dividends to our retirees for decades to come.” said Board President Brian Pendleton.

Although pleased with the fund’s positive performance, the Board and staff will continue to monitor your pension fund, which is invested for the long term. There is a strategic asset allocation plan in place with ongoing adjustments to manage periodic fluctuations.

We are committed to our first responders, both past and present, who protect and serve the residents of Los Angeles. For any questions or concerns, please contact us at (213) 279-3000, (844) 88-LAFPP, or at Pensions@lafpp.com

LAFPP continues to be one of the largest public safety pension funds in the U.S. The Plan administers retirement and health subsidy benefits for nearly 27,000 current and retired public safety employees and their beneficiaries for the City of Los Angeles.

Tier 6 members, we have something NEW for you!

We created an easy-to-navigate web page to walk you through your pension benefits. This walkthrough covers the basics of Tier 6 pension benefits such as retirement eligibility, pension contributions, survivor pensions, buying back your recruit training, military, or public service time, and much more!

We provide videos, graphics, outside links, and resources to help you on your journey to learning about your pension benefits.

It is never too early to plan for retirement.

Are you ready? Click here to begin

As of August 4, 2020, the Fund’s total assets once again reached an unaudited market value in excess of $25 billion dollars. LAFPP reached this benchmark in January 2020 just before the stock market reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic occurred. The rebound in the Plan’s market value is due to the strong recovery in the equity markets and the City’s contribution payment received in July 2020.