Category: Newsroom

The current term for the Police Department Employee Member of the Board of Fire and Police Pension Commissioners will end on June 30, 2020.  Commissioner Robert von Voigt will be resigning from the Board as the Police Department Employee Board Member effective September 30, 2018. Since Commissioner von Voigt’s term was scheduled to expire on June 30, 2020, his resignation leaves an unexpired term of twenty-one (21) months. The Office of the City Clerk, in conjunction with the Department of Fire and Police Pensions, is scheduled to conduct a Special Election on Tuesday, August 28, 2018, to fill that position.

BOARD MEMBER DUTIES – The Board exercises the prudent person standard in the discharge of its duties.  It has sole and exclusive fiduciary responsibility to administer the Fire and Police Pension System (System) and its assets; has the authority to set and adopt investment policies for over $22 billion in fund assets; and has the duty to establish actuarial assumptions and adopt rules and regulations necessary to administer the System.

Preparation for regular and special meetings requires an individual to commit hours of advanced reading of Board Reports and disability cases.  The Board normally meets on the first and third Thursdays at 8:30 a.m.  Most meetings are from two to four hours.

CANDIDATE PROCESS – Only active, sworn Los Angeles Police Department members of the System are eligible to run and vote for this Board seat.  Members who are interested in becoming a candidate are required to complete and submit a Notice of Intent form, with optional Occupational Ballot Designation and Statement of Qualifications, that will be mailed to all eligible members with further instructions.

To qualify, candidates must mail or hand deliver the completed Notice of Intent, with optional Occupational Ballot Designation and Statement of Qualifications, to the Office of the City Clerk – Election Division, Piper Technical Center, 555 Ramirez Street, Space 300, Los Angeles, CA 90012. The completed Notice of Intent must be received by mail or in person by the Office of the City Clerk – Election Division by 5:00 p.m. on July 17, 2018.  Candidates who wish to hand deliver their Notice of Intent may start on July 6, 2018, seven (7) business days preceding the above due date, and between the hours of 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Postmarked letters are not sufficient and Notice of Intent forms received by the Office of the City Clerk – Election Division after 5:00 p.m. on July 17, 2018 will not be accepted.

VOTING PROCESS – After the candidates are determined, eligible voters will receive a ballot in the mail.  Voters who wish to submit their election ballots in person may do so beginning        August 21, 2018.  All completed ballots must be received by mail or in person, by the Office of the City Clerk – Election Division by 5:00 p.m. on August 28, 2018 to be counted.  The ballots will be tallied on August 30, 2018 in the presence of the observers designated by each candidate. 

QUESTIONS – Inquiries regarding the election process may be directed to the Office of the City Clerk – Election Division at (213) 978-0440 or the Administrative Services Section of the Department of Fire and Police Pensions at (213) 279-3080.

On May 3, 2018, the Board of Fire and Police Pension Commissioners approved a six percent increase to the non-Medicare health subsidy.  The new non-Medicare health subsidy maximum is $1725.39 per month, effective July 1, 2018.

While the upper limit of the Board’s authority to increase the non-Medicare subsidy is the lesser of seven percent or the Board-approved medical trend rate, an increase of six percent will subsidize health insurance premiums in a manner consistent with the Board’s fiduciary duty to all participants of the Plan.  The proposed maximum non-Medicare subsidy of $1725.39 is based on known factors related to medical inflation and market trend, taking into account the overall impact to current and future retirees. 

Members who either (1) entered DROP or retired prior to July 15, 2011, or (2) chose to opt-in to pay an additional two percent in contributions are eligible to receive a maximum non-Medicare health subsidy not to exceed $1,725.39, effective July 1, 2018.

For information regarding the non-Medicare Health Subsidy increase or if you have specific questions regarding a pending subsidy credit, please contact Medical & Dental Benefits at (213) 279-3115.

The Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) is 3.6% for 2018 and was approved by the Board of Fire and Police Pension Commissioners on April 19, 2018.  The COLA will be effective July 1, 2018, and all eligible pensioners and DROP participants will receive an increase accordingly, beginning with the pension payment dated July 31, 2018.  

• Tiers 1 and 2 will receive 3.6%.
• Tiers 3 through 6 and DROP will receive 3.0%*; and
• Tiers 5 and 6 will have the additional 0.6% stored in a COLA bank.

*For new pensioners or DROP entrants (excluding Tier 2 DROP entrants), the first year’s COLA is prorated based on the number of completed months since the effective pension date, and may not receive the full 3.0%.

How does this affect LAFPP Pensioners?

This is an example of how a monthly pension benefit of $5,686 would be affected by this year’s COLA of 3.6%:

For Tiers 1 and 2

If 3.6% of $5,686 = $204.70

($5,686 x 0.036)

Then the monthly pension benefit would be increased to $5,890.70.

($5,686 + $204.70)

For Tiers 3 through 6 and DROP

If 3.0% of $5,686 = $170.58

($5,686 x 0.030)

Then the monthly pension benefit would be increased to $5,856.58.

($5,686 + $170.80)

Tiers 5 and 6 will receive a 0.6% in their COLA bank.

New Geographic Area

The COLA is based on the annual change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).  In January 2018, the BLS introduced new geographic area samples for the CPI. The 2018 COLA was calculated using a 12-month period from March 2017 through February 2018, based on the new Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area sample.

For questions regarding the COLA, please contact the Retirement Services Section at (213) 279-3125 or (844) 88-LAFPP, ext. 93125.  For detailed information on the calculation of the CPI, please visit the BLS website at http://www.bls.gov/cpi/ or call (202) 691-7000.

Active members! Your 2017 Annual Active Member Statements are available in MyLAFPP. Members in Tiers 2 – 6 can now log in to MyLAFPP to review and/or print your statements. MyLAFPP can be accessed on the homepage of www.lafpp.com.

Once logged in, simply click on the link in the Online Paper Statement box and then select the year of your choice. This statement summarizes your individual pension-related information, pension estimates (if eligible to retire), contributions and interest, domestic partner information and beneficiary designation as of December 31, 2017.

For questions concerning your statement, contact the Active Member Services Section at (213) 279-3140.

REMINDERS WHILE VISITING LAFPP OFFICES

It is LAFPP’s goal to provide a secure environment for all LAFPP employees and visitors and to make our offices accessible to you.  If you have an upcoming appointment or need to stop by, please note the following to plan your visit.

Identification Required to Enter Building

Any person entering the LAFPP offices must present a driver’s license or other form of government-issued picture ID. Anyone without a valid form of identification will not be allowed to enter into the LAFPP offices.  This includes any guests you may bring with you.

Parking Available for LAFPP Business

On-site parking with validation is available to our LAFPP members (active/retired members, spouses, domestic partners, children, etc.) conducting business with staff at our offices located at 701 E. 3rd Street.  LAFPP members visiting our offices will be validated at the following two parking lots:

Lot 1: Adjacent to the LAFPP building – entrance is on 3rd St.  If there is no parking available, you will be directed to Lot 2

Lot 2: 300 Central Street (when Lot 1 is full). This lot is not owned by LAFPP but will accept our validation. At this lot you will have to pay $5 upfront that will be returned with a validated ticket.

• When parking in either lot, please inform the attendant that you will be visiting the LAFPP offices.
• All visitors should be prepared to leave the keys to their vehicle with the parking attendant, due to space issues. If this is not an option for you, metered street parking is an alternative.  Click this link for a map of other lots in the vicinity (no validation).
• After you have finished conducting your LAFPP business, parking validation to cover the duration of your visit will be provided at the 2nd floor reception desk. Validation is only available for Lots 1 and 2 specified above. For any questions, please contact us at (213) 279-3000.

The federal income tax withholding tables have been updated for the 2018 tax year, starting with the February 28, 2018 payment.  You may see a change in the amount of federal taxes withheld to reflect the new tax laws.  Please consult your tax adviser to ensure your federal tax withholding is sufficient or visit www.irs.gov for more information. 

To change your federal tax withholding, call Retirement Services Section at (844) 885-2377 Ext 93125 or (213) 279-3125 and request a Tax Withholding form or download a copy.

To view your DROP Semi-Annual Statement for the period ending December 31, 2017, log in to MyLAFPP and click on the “DROP Statements” tab on the left. This statement provides your date of entry, mandatory date of exit and your account balance with interest credited on December 31.

For questions regarding your DROP Semi-Annual Statement, please contact the DROP/Service Pensions Section at (213) 279-3100.

All new Airport Peace Officers hired on or after January 7, 2018 will become LAFPP Tier 6 members, in accordance with a City Charter amendment approved by the voters in November 2016.  Prior to that date, Airport Peace Officers were members of the City’s civilian retirement plan known as the Los Angeles City Employees’ Retirement System or LACERS.  The Charter amendment also allowed Airport Peace Officers hired prior to January 7, the opportunity to transfer from LACERS to LAFPP by purchasing all of their prior City service.

We look forward to serving our new members in the years to come!