PPOA Retiree Liaison
LASD retired
jschallert@ppoa.com
I try to examine what is important to retired members as I continue my path as your representative on the PPOA Board of Directors. The common topics are pension preservation, medical benefits and connections.
I have been dedicated over the past decade to all of the above, and I am honored to represent you. That took a bit of a different path recently, as I was fortunate enough to speak at Supervisors School with a class of newly promoted sergeants. My goal when speaking to active Department personnel is to educate them now and have them, in turn, educate all deputies on the importance of the changes to the pension system.
While speaking to the new sergeants, I explained to them how our pension has changed for all new members after January 1, 2013. PEPRA is the beast I speak of. Although none of them were PEPRA members, I felt it was important that they be fully educated on the changes so they, in turn, can mentor younger deputies just coming on.
In my talk, I explained to them how, under PEPRA, everyone is basically equal. In 25 years, it is quite possible, and likely probable, that all LASD members, regardless of rank, will retire with no higher than a Custody Assistant pension. Newly promoted PEPRA sergeants likely will already see a negative impact, and any rank above them will absolutely see an impact.
I explained to the class that what new deputies need to know is this: When you retire, you will take a drastic cut in salary. Rank will not matter. Everyone will “top out” at the same highest allotted figure. Those at the rank of Sergeant and higher will see drastic cuts, some only getting 40% of their current salaries in retirement. It’s a huge deal that must be planned for now.
The kicker is the fact that other agencies don’t have PEPRA restrictions, and some agencies even still offer DROP programs. Why the Sheriff’s Department and County have done nothing to address the issue is beyond me, but I really feel it will have a huge impact on hiring and retention once the PEPRA employees realize what is going on, and once other agencies use that against us to hire quality recruits. I do believe we are a better agency than all of our competition, but how far does that go when you can get drastically better financial security elsewhere?
Judging by the feedback, I think the sergeants appreciated that discussion. They asked what the solution was, and I explained that absent a fix from the County or the Department, the key is simply understanding this is a “Honda Accord” career now. Maximize other investments and your Horizons plan, use overtime for savings instead of the new boat and just understand what we have to offer.
Why am I pushing education about PEPRA so much if those employees are not the retired members that I represent? Because every one of them will be. And I still remember the sergeant who told me my first week working the jails to “use the 457 plan, it will help so much.” He was right!
With that, I am reaching my article limit, so I wish you all well. I am so glad to see COVID restrictions easing and the world opening up again. I hear from some of you about your travels and I am so excited for you. I wish you all a healthy rest of the year. Please keep the emails coming. I enjoy reading them and I am glad to help anyone who needs it.