1422 - Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) Prefunding (Historical View)
** Effective: 10/9/2018 1:51:30 PM - 10/9/2018 2:13:25 PM **Status: Active
Change Notes
Made a few grammatical edits.
Category
Benefits and Insurance
Audience List
- Accounting Officers
- Chiefs of Administration
- Personnel Officers
- Personnel Transactions Staff
- Personnel Transactions Supervisors
Synopsis
This policy
- explains the application of prefunding Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB).
Introduction
OPEB addresses unfunded retirement health care by prefunding future health benefits for retired members.
Statement
Prefunding OPEB is negotiated through the state collective bargaining process. The effective prefunding dates and contribution percentages for each bargaining unit (BU) are in the Memoranda of Understanding, accessible from the Bargaining Contracts link in the Authorities section of this policy.
Bargaining Unit 1, effective date July 1, 2018.
Bargaining Unit 2, effective date July 1, 2017.
Bargaining Unit 3, effective date July 1, 2018.
Bargaining Unit 4, effective date July 1, 2018.
Bargaining Unit 5, effective date July 1, 2009.
Bargaining Unit 6, effective date September 1, 2016.
Bargaining Unit 7, effective date July 1, 2017.
Bargaining Unit 8, effective date July 1, 2017.
Bargaining Unit 9, effective date July 1, 2017.
Bargaining Unit 10, effective date July 1, 2017.
Bargaining Unit 11, effective date July 1, 2018.
Bargaining Unit 12, effective date July 1, 2013 (associated excluded employees, effective July 1, 2017).
Bargaining Unit 13, effective date July 1, 2017.
Bargaining Unit 14, effective date July 1, 2018.
Bargaining Unit 15, effective date July 1, 2018.
Bargaining Unit 16, effective date July 1, 2013 (associated excluded employees, effective July 1, 2017).
Bargaining Unit 17, effective date July 1, 2018.
Bargaining Unit 18, effective date July 1, 2017.
Bargaining Unit 19, effective date July 1, 2017.
Bargaining Unit 20, effective date July 1, 2018.
- Bargaining Unit 21, effective date July 1, 2018.
OPEB General Information
All employees in positions that are eligible for health benefits, including Permanent Intermittent (PI) positions, must contribute. If a PI employee has begun contributing towards retirement but is currently not eligible for health benefits, the employee will continue to contribute towards OPEB.
Employees who are not members of a state retirement plan, including Part-Time, Seasonal, and Temporary (PST) retirement program members, will not contribute. For a list of classifications that do not prefund OPEB, please view the “Seasonal Classifications Not Subject to OPEB” document on HR Net.
New hires and state employees appointed to positions in bargaining units after the OPEB prefunding effective date will contribute towards OPEB immediately, unless they are not eligible for health benefits based on the tenure and time base of their appointment. Employees who are not subject to OPEB prefunding due to their tenure and time base will contribute if they are appointed to a position that is eligible for health benefits.
OPEB contributions are withheld on a pre-tax basis, except for employees receiving disability benefits that require the contributions to be withheld post-tax, as determined by the State Controller's Office (SCO).
If an employee is in a position subject to OPEB and in an additional position not subject to OPEB, the employee will have deductions withheld only from the appointment that is subject to OPEB.
OPEB contributions are not recoverable under any circumstances by the employee or his/her beneficiary or survivor.
The costs of administering payroll deductions and asset management are deducted from the OPEB contributions and/or OPEB account balance.
OPEB Contributions from Base Salary (BU 5)
The following parameters pertain to withholding OPEB contributions from the base salary:
A. The OPEB contribution will be applied monthly regardless of the employee’s pay frequency (e.g., monthly, semi-monthly, or bi-weekly).
1. For positive pay employees paid monthly, the OPEB contribution will be based upon the hours paid the previous month.
2. For positive pay employees paid semi-monthly, the OPEB contribution will be based upon the hours paid the previous month and will be taken from the second warrant during each monthly pay period.
3. For positive pay employees paid bi-weekly, the OPEB contribution will be based upon the hours paid for the previous month.
B. OPEB contributions are not reduced due to fluctuations in gross salary, such as when unpaid leave is taken under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
C. For employees with a single hourly appointment, the OPEB contribution is withheld up to the amount that would have been withheld if the employee worked in a full-time appointment.
D. For employees with a full-time appointment and an additional appointment (e.g., hourly), the OPEB contribution is withheld from the full-time appointment only.
E. For employees with multiple part-time or hourly appointments, the OPEB contribution is taken from all of the appointments, up to the amount that would have been withheld if the employee worked in a full-time appointment.
F. If an employee has multiple hourly appointments, the highest salary rate is used to compute what the OPEB contribution would be if the employee held a full-time appointment at that salary rate. This amount serves as the cut-off. For employees with a part-time and an hourly appointment, the OPEB contribution amount is calculated based upon the part-time appointment salary rate.
OPEB Contributions From Pensionable Compensation (BUs 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21)
OPEB contributions will be taken from the total pensionable compensation of each pay period. Pensionable compensation is any pay that is subject to retirement contribution, e.g. regular pay, Industrial Disability Leave, holiday pay, pay differentials, shift differential, and special pay.
Please note: BUs 12 and 16 contribute towards OPEB from pensionable compensation instead of base salary effective July 1, 2017.
Excluded and Exempt Employees Associated with a Bargaining Unit
Excluded and exempt employees directly associated with a bargaining unit, e.g., C01-21, E01-21, S01-21, M01-21, and M99, will contribute the same OPEB percentage under the same schedule as the employees in the bargaining unit. Exceptions are included in the “Additional Exempt and Excluded Classifications Prefunding OPEB with a Bargaining Unit” document on HR Net.
Excluded and Exempt Employees Not Associated with a Bargaining Unit
Excluded and exempt employees not directly associated with a bargaining unit, e.g., E48, E59, E68, E79, E97, E98, and E99, will prefund OPEB from their pensionable compensation beginning July 1, 2018.
OPEB Deposits
OPEB contributions will be deposited in the designated state subaccount for each bargaining unit in the Annuitants' Health Care Coverage Fund.
The OPEB contribution on the employee pay warrant is indicated as “CERBT,” which stands for the “California Employers' Retiree Benefit Trust.”
Departments that process their own payroll and are not part of the SCO Uniform State Payroll System submit OPEB contributions to the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) OPEB fund, CERBT in the following manner:
Monthly transfer contributions are not required. The minimum OPEB contribution amounts must not be less than $5,000 or the total annual contribution of the department, whichever amount is lower.
OPEB contributions may be transferred electronically or by check to CalPERS. The links to the “Employer Contribution By Check Under Agreement and Election to Prefund Other Post-Employment Benefits” and “Employer Contribution By Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) Under Agreement and Election to Prefund Other Post-Employment Benefits” forms are under the Forms section of this policy. The appropriate form must be submitted with the wire transfer or check contributions.
For Bargaining Unit 12, the CERBT Account Number is 5402440716-003 and agreement effective date is 8/23/2010. The CERBT Account Number is used on the OPEB contribution transmittal forms to identify the proper account to apply the contribution.
For Bargaining Unit 16, the CERBT Account Number is 5402440716-002 and the agreement effective date is 8/23/2010.
Application
Not Applicable.
Authorities
Resources
Forms
- CalPERS PERS01F0030 DMC - Check: Employer Contribution By Check Under Agreement and Election to Prefund Other Post- Employment Benefits
- CalPERS PERS01F0030 DMC - Wire Transfer: Employer Contribution By Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) Under Agreement and Election to Prefund Other Post-Employment Benefits
PML
- PML 2013-025: PML 2013-025 - 8/9/2013 - Bargaining Unit 12 and 16 Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) Prefunding
- PML 2013-033: PML 2013-033 - 10/1/2013 - Instructions for Departments that Submit Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) Contributions Directly to CalPERS
- PML 2014-042: PML 2014-042 - 11/7/2014 - Bargaining Units 12 and 16 Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) Prefunding—Participation and Payroll Deductions
- PML 2016-027: Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) Prefunding Implementation–Bargaining Unit 6 – 10/6/2016
Web Pages
- Additional Exempt and Excluded Classifications Prefunding OPEB with a Bargaining Unit: Additional Exempt and Excluded Classifications Prefunding OPEB with a Bargaining Unit
- Seasonal Classifications Not Subject to OPEB: Seasonal Classifications Not Subject to OPEB
Authorized By
Contact Person
Angela Acker
Health Policy Analyst,
, Health Policy
Phone: 916-322-9795
Fax: 916-322-3769
Email: angela.acker@calhr.ca.gov