UC Retirement Plan

1976 Tier Summary

Plan Description

FOR MEMBERS WITH SOCIAL SECURITY

UC Retirement Plan 1976 Tier Summary Plan Description for Members with Social Security

Listed below are telephone numbers and website and

correspondence addresses for some of the resources UC

employees routinely use.

UC EMPLOYEE WEBSITE

(includes after-hours voicemail option)

RASC main line: 1-800-888-8267, Monday–Friday,

7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (PT)

International callers: 1-510-987-0200

Mail: UC Retirement Administration Service Center,

P.O. Box 24570, Oakland, CA 94623-1570

LOCAL BENEFITS OFFICES

UC Davis: 530-752-1774

UC Riverside: 951-827-4766

UC San Diego: 858-534-2816

UC San Diego Health: 619-543-3200

UCSF: 415-476-1400

UCSF Health: 415-353-4545

UC Santa Cruz: 831-459-2013

Agriculture & Natural Resources: 530-752-1774

ASUCLA: 310-825-7055

UC College of the Law, San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings):

INVESTMENT OVERSIGHT

1111 Franklin St

BENEFITS FROM OTHER SOURCES

Social Security Administration: 800-772-1213

Retirement Plan: Summary Plan Description

For 1976 Tier Members with Social Security

Introduction .....................................................................................................................................................................3

Membership .....................................................................................................................................................................4

Eligibility and Membership .......................................................................................................................4

Inactive Membership ..........................................................................................................................................5

Reciprocity ...........................................................................................................................................................................5

Contributions .................................................................................................................................................................6

Lump Sum Cashout ..............................................................................................................................................10

Electing a Lump Sum Cashout .............................................................................................................10

Retirement Benets ........................................................................................................................................... 11

If You Leave UC and Don’t Retire...................................................................................................11

Basic Retirement Income .............................................................................................................................11

Retirement Age Factors ..................................................................................................................................12

Minimum Benet Guarantees ..........................................................................................................17

Cost-of-Living Adjustments ..................................................................................................................18

Disability Income ....................................................................................................................................................18

Benet Election ............................................................................................................................................................19

Maximum Disability Income ...................................................................................................................20

Length of the Disability Income Period ...............................................................................20

When Disability Income Stops

(Regardless of UCRP Disability Date) ......................................................................................20

Reappointment After Retirement .............................................................................................20

Internal Revenue Code Provisions ............................................................................................21

Additional Information .................................................................................................................................23

Plan Administration ..............................................................................................................................................23

Designation of Beneciary or Contingent Annuitant ...................................23

Assignment of Benets ...................................................................................................................................24

Qualied Domestic Relations Orders (QDRO) ........................................................24

Information for Members with Service Credit

UCRP also provides disability and death benets and, for certain

members, a Capital Accumulation Payment (CAP).

UCRP is a tax-qualied governmental dened benet pension

plan. Eligible employees automatically become members of UCRP

as a condition of employment. Benets are determined by

dened formulas that vary according to the type of benets

payable (for example, retirement, disability or survivor benets).

The formulas are based on such factors as a member’s salary,

age, years of service credit and membership classication. The

Plan is funded by employer and employee contributions.

Membership

• Became a Plan member on July 1, 1989, or earlier and reached

time before (and in lieu of) retiring, request a refund of accu-

a distribution of your accumulations at any time. You will lose

any service credit you have accrued unless you later return to UC

employment and reestablish it (see “Service Credit Purchase” on

page 8).

plan compensation under both systems. The reciprocity

provisions do not apply to eligibility for retiree health benets.

To establish reciprocity, you must:

member of both systems. You are subject to membership and

benet obligations and rights of each system. You must retire

under both systems on the same date for the benets of

reciprocity to apply.

To establish reciprocity at UC, you must complete form UBEN

157 (Election of Reciprocity) and send it to UC Human Resources.

The form is part of the UCRP/CalPERS Reciprocity Fact Sheet,

available on UCnet (ucal.us/reciprocity) or from your local

Benets Oce. To nd out how to establish reciprocity at

CalPERS, call CalPERS directly (see inside front cover). As long as

• Become an active UCRP member on or after July 1, 2002

• Are a member of CalSTRS and

• Elect UCRP retirement income or a lump sum cashout after

• Have satised the applicable age and service requirements for

similar to those for reciprocity. CalSTRS has similar concurrent

retirement provisions that apply to UCRP members; for more

The UC Board of Regents periodically adjusts University and

member contributions to maintain adequate funding levels.

UNIVERSITY CONTRIBUTIONS

members, and are not allocated to individual member accounts.

MEMBER CONTRIBUTIONS

month. Adjustments to member contributions are subject to

collective bargaining.

UCRP contributions are deducted automatically from your gross

contributions and interest is maintained in a Plan accumulations

Service credit is the measure of time you have participated in

the Plan in one or more membership classes or tiers. Service

credit is used to determine eligibility for most benets and to

calculate benets such as monthly retirement.

amount of service credit. For example, if you work 50 percent

time for one year, you receive one-half year of service credit.

SICK LEAVE

If you retire within four months after leaving the University, any

unused sick leave is converted to service credit. Eight hours of

unused sick leave converts to approximately one day of service

credit. Sick leave converted to service credit cannot be used to

reach the ve years of service credit needed to be eligible for

continue to earn service credit at the same rate earned during

the 12 months of continuous service just before your disability

You continue to earn service credit until or unless increased

service credit would cause your retirement benet, if you were

to retire, to exceed your disability benet.

PARTIAL-YEAR CAREER APPOINTMENTS

If you work full time during a 9-, 10-, or 11-month partial-year

appointment, you earn one year of service credit for each Plan

year. If you work part time during a partial-year appointment,

Service CreditContributions

You earn service credit for military leave at the same rate

earned during the 12 months of continuous service just before

the leave. For example, if you earned three-fourths of a year of

will earn three-fourths of a year of service credit for a year of

The Retirement Administration Service Center or your local

Benets Oces can provide more information about

establishing service credit for military leaves. You’ll need to

submit form UBEN 132 (Service Credit Verication) with

documentation to the address on the form.

LEAVE WITHOUT PAY

You do not earn service credit during a leave without pay, but

you may be able to purchase service credit, if the leave was

year, you receive two-thirds of a year of service credit, but you

may be able to purchase service credit for the unpaid portion

of your leave, if the leave was approved (see the UCRP Service

Credit Purchase Guide, available online at ucal.us/purchase).

EXTENDED SICK LEAVE

TIME REDUCTION INCENTIVE PLAN (TRIP)

TRIP, a temporary workforce reduction program, was in eect

from Aug. 1, 1992, through June 30, 1995. TRIP participants

were eligible to accrue one full month of service credit for each

month during the period of their TRIP agreement if they worked

at least 75 percent time each month during the entire period

and fullled all other terms of the agreement. If these conditions

were not met, see the UCRP Service Credit Purchase Guide,

available online at ucal.us/purchase.

STAFF AND ACADEMIC REDUCTION IN TIME

(START) PROGRAM

UCRP service credit during the START period is reduced for

periods of leave without pay or other periods of time o pay

status not reected in the START agreement.

FURLOUGH

2010

the furlough period at the same rate they accrued prior to the

furlough period.

1

Retirement Benets

Full Continuance to Contingent Annuitant

You receive a reduced monthly benet for life. When you die,

Step 2

The reduction factor, in this case 0.910825, is applied to the

Each benet is paid for the recipient’s lifetime. Options B and C

are calculated and paid in the same way as Option A; only the

reduction factors dier.

In this example, you have no eligible survivors but want to

provide for a friend. You choose Option A with the friend as

contingent annuitant. Because no one is eligible for the survivor

continuance, the option payment is based on the entire basic

retirement income of $2,000.

4

OPTION C

One-Half Continuance to Contingent Annuitant

You receive a reduced monthly benet for life. When you die,

4

The reduction factor, in this case 0.953332, is applied to the

0.953332 x $1,500 = $1,430 (option portion)

Step 3

OPTION D

One-Half Continuance to Surviving Spouse or Domestic

This option is available only if the surviving spouse or domestic

is named as contingent annuitant. In this option, the 25 percent

survivor continuance is included in the calculation.

You receive a reduced monthly benet for life. When you die,

one-half of this amount is paid to the surviving spouse or

domestic partner for life.

The yield of this option is close to the amount paid under

Option C. However, Option D diers in that it

• Is exactly one-half of your total monthly benet and

Basic retirement income is $2,000. The reduction factor, in this

case 0.976666, is applied.

your basic retirement income, taking into account all University

the limit on basic retirement income aects only a few UCRP

members, who have 40 years or more of service credit. If part of

your UCRP benet has been awarded to an alternate payee (see

account any benet attributable to the alternate payee.

Your retirement benet, which may include additional elements,

such as a CAP or Social Security supplement, may be limited by

the IRC (see “IRC Limit on Plan Benets” on page 21).

4

Death Benets

PAYMENTS TO BENEFICIARIES

annuitant, any remaining member accumulations are paid to

your beneciary.

cashout, the cashout amount and CAP balance, if any, will be

paid to your beneciary. No additional death benets are

payable.

PRERETIREMENT SURVIVOR INCOME

income benets and you have at least two years of service

credit, monthly income is paid to your eligible survivors—that is,

eligible spouse or domestic partner, or if none, eligible child(ren),

or if none, eligible dependent parent(s) (see the denitions

beginning on page 26).

The amount paid to the eligible survivor(s) is 25 percent of your

If you die while an inactive member, monthly income is paid to

your surviving spouse or surviving domestic partner only if you

are eligible to retire at the time of death.

DEATH WHILE ELIGIBLE TO RETIRE

calculated as though you had elected to retire on the day after

the date of death and had chosen Option A (full continuance)

have reached age 65.

Minimum Benet Guarantees

Social Security coverage, UCRP guarantees a minimum benet

for disability income, preretirement survivor income and the

postretirement survivor continuance. The guarantee does not

apply to your retirement income.

UCRP and from Social Security (including family benets) will

you had not elected Social Security coverage. When necessary,

this minimum.

In determining the amount of the guarantees, only those

parent on April 1, 1976, are taken into account.

FOR DISABILITY INCOME

your nal salary, based on service credit as of the disability date

Number of

Eligible Survivors

Minimum Monthly

Benet

1 25% $200

2 35% $300

3 40% $300 + 5% of nal salary

4 45% $300 + 10% of nal salary

5 or more 50% $300 + 15% of nal salary

FOR POSTRETIREMENT SURVIVOR CONTINUANCE

The formula for the minimum guarantee for postretirement

Disability IncomeCost-of-Living Adjustments

After receiving benets for one year, UCRP members are eligible

to receive an annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), starting

Price Index (CPI) increase for the preceding year. Generally, the

• 75 percent of the CPI increase over 4 percent

The maximum COLA is 6 percent. If the CPI decreases, UCRP

benets are not reduced.

The CPI used to determine the annual COLA is an average of the

and is measured from February to February.

For preretirement survivor income, the COLA is calculated from

death. This applies even if benets are not payable until a later

time, as in the case of a surviving spouse or surviving domestic

When an inactive member retires or elects a lump sum cashout,

the HAPC is increased to include a COLA of 2 percent (or the

actual CPI increase over that same period, if lower) compounded

annually from the July 1 following the separation date to the

July 1 conciding with or immediately preceding the retirement

Disability income is available if you satisfy certain minimum

Disability Benets” on page 19). The service requirements,

approved.

rehabilitation programs. If you do not comply, you are not

eligible to receive UCRP disability income.

DISABILITY DEFINITIONS

because of a medically determinable physical or mental

impairment that is permanent or expected to last 12 continuous

months or longer from the UCRP disability date.

Initially, “substantial gainful activity” means physical or mental

(adjusted for cost-of-living increases; see “Cost-of-Living

income, your impairment is reevaluated. Disability income

continues if you are unable to earn the amount dened annually

If you became a Plan member before April 1, 1980, you must

have two years of service credit to qualify for disability income.

“Comparable position” means a University position for which

you are qualied and medically able to perform—whether or

percent of your nal salary, adjusted for cost-of-living increases

(see“Cost-of-Living Adjustments” on page 18).

continues if the impairment prevents you from holding a

position (at the University or elsewhere) that could reasonably

be expected to pay 70 percent or more of your nal salary,

adjusted for cost-of-living increases (see “Cost-of-Living

self-employment and the rendering of any type of service.

Apply for Disability Benets

To apply for UCRP disability income, you should contact

your local Benets Oce to explore your various disability

income options. You should make an appointment to apply

for disability benets as soon as it appears that you won’t

be able to return to work because of your disability. (If you

become an inactive member, you are eligible to apply for

disability income within 12 months of leaving University

employment if medical evidence shows that you would have

been entitled to disability income as of the separation date

and your accumulations have remained on deposit with the

health coverage, you must apply no later than 120 days after

your separation. If you have already applied for retirement,

your disability income application must be received before

your retirement election has become irrevocable.

DISABILITY DATE

• The rst of the month in which the Plan Administrator

Disability income is a percentage of your monthly nal salary

minus a reduction for Social Security benets. The Social Security

reduction is $106.40.

The percentage is based on years of service

credit as of the disability date, as shown below.

Reappointment After

Retirement

Disability Income

Internal Revenue

Code Provisions

before July 1, 1994, the limit is $505,000.

IRC LIMIT ON PLAN BENEFITS

benet attributable to after-tax employee contributions.

The University of California 415(m) Restoration Plan—a nonquali-

ed pension plan—became eective Jan. 1, 2000, to pay benets

that would not otherwise be payable because of the §415(b)

limit. If your UCRP benets are aected by the §415(b) limit

when you elect retirement income or a lump sum cashout, you

will receive additional information about the 415(m) Restoration

Plan from the UC Retirement Administration Service Center.

IRC MINIMUM DISTRIBUTION REQUIREMENTS

IRC §401(a)(9)(A) requires that you must begin receiving mini-

retirement benets by the required date, basic retirement

income will begin automatically and any CAP balance will be

distributed. Minimum required distributions are not eligible for

MINIMUM DISTRIBUTION INCIDENTAL BENEFIT (MDIB)

IRC §401(a)(9)(G), Minimum Distribution Incidental Benet

(MDIB), limits the percentage of the member’s monthly income

than ten years younger than you. If this limitation applies in your

situation, please contact the Retirement Administration Service

Center or your local benets oce to make sure you have

INTO THE PLAN

UCRP does not accept rollovers except for service credit

purchases.

FROM THE PLAN

• CAP payment

• Lump sum cashout

• Lump-sum death payment to a surviving spouse

• Lump-sum distributions to a spouse (as dened under federal

• Lump-sum death payment to a non-spouse beneciary

A distribution that is eligible for direct rollover is subject to

mandatory 20 percent federal tax withholding unless it is direct-

Internal Revenue

Code Provisions

UCRP distributions that are not eligible for rollover include:

eligible Plan distribution that has been paid to you or them, as

long as the rollover to the IRA or new plan occurs within 60 days

of receipt of the distribution. If you want to roll over 100 percent

of the distribution, you must replace, from personal savings or

when the distribution was issued. Any amount not rolled over

will be taxed as ordinary income for the year in which the

distribution was issued. It may also be subject to early distribu-

tion penalties. See “Taxes on Distributions—Tax Withholding”

below. For more detailed information, see the Special Tax

Notice for UC Retirement Plan Distributions available on UCnet

(ucal.us/specialtaxnotice).

If you who have an account in UC’s Dened Contribution Plan,

Tax-Deferred 403(b) Plan or 457(b) Deferred Compensation Plan,

you may roll over eligible UCRP distributions to these plans.

TAXES ON DISTRIBUTIONS

INCOME TAX

Except as described below, all distributions from UCRP are

EARLY DISTRIBUTION PENALTIES

be subject to nondeductible federal and state penalty taxes —

currently a 10 percent federal tax and a 2½ percent California

taxes. The exceptions are described in the Special Tax Notice

for UC Retirement Plan Distributions available on UCnet

(ucal.us/specialtaxnotice).

penalties, you are responsible for reporting them to the IRS

when you le your income tax returns.

The Plan Administrator withholds federal and California state

directly rolled over to a traditional IRA, a Roth IRA, or another

employer plan. For more information, see the Special Tax Notice

for UC Retirement Plan Distributions available on UCnet

(ucal.us/specialtaxnotice).

each distribution paid during the previous year. The form shows

the total and taxable amounts of the individual’s distribution(s).

Retirement Administration Service Center receives the request

Retirement Administration Service Center will notify the

the claim, and sent to Plan Administrator, UC Human Resources

period. In general, such period will not exceed 120 days.

denied, the claimant has the right to initiate legal proceedings.

Send service of process to the Regents of the University of

California, Trustee of the University of California Retirement

Plan, c/o Oce of the General Counsel, 1111 Franklin Street,

PLAN ADMINISTRATION

operation of the Plan. The UC Retirement Administration

Service Center provides the necessary record keeping, account-

Plan members.

PLAN CHANGES

The University will take appropriate action concerning proposed

a Plan member. When you die, the beneciary receives the basic

death payment and any accumulations remaining after all

benets have been paid. You may name more than one

beneciary and specify the percentage that each beneciary is

• Surviving legal spouse or surviving domestic partner; or, if none

• Surviving children, natural or adopted, on an equal-share basis

• Surviving parents on an equal-share basis; or, if none

• Brothers and sisters on an equal-share basis; or, if none

Additional Information