Obtain Disability Retirement Benefits As Per The Californian Retirement System Chosen

Thomas O'Connor Lawyer

Investing in pension plans is essential for every individual. It helps to financially secure their retired life. Over 4.6 million Californians have signed up for state or local pension plans. The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) is a state pension system with around 1.5 million members.

What happens if there is a permanent disability before retirement age?

There could be unfortunate situations where a person wouldn’t be able to continue work due to a disability resulting from an accident. If that’s the case and you haven’t reached the eligible age to receive pension, there is a way to still receive pension by filing for disability retirement. The process of getting a pension in the state of California can be tricky in this case.

A public pension lawyer has the expertise to walk you through the process and any other pension-related issues. The attorney would let you know about the eligibility requirements required to apply for disability retirement. To ensure you’ll receive ample pension in future, take your time to read about each pension plan before you apply for it.

California retirement system types:

A person needs to complete at least 5 years of service credit to be considered eligible for receiving monthly pensions. There is an option to purchase service credits from CalPERS to boost the benefits you’ll receive in future.

  • CalPERS Pension: CalPers organization offers benefits to state and local government employees, fire fighters, law enforcement officers and other public employees with the exception of judges. It lets you avail pension from 50, 52 or 55 years of age. The pension could be a lump sum made in one payment or handed over in a monthly basis.
  • Alternate Retirement Program: ARP retirement savings program was in motion between 2004 and 2013. Upon the wishes of the members, the ARP fund was transferred to CalPERS, will be received as a lump sum or the amount is rolled over into a 401(k).
  • Judges Retirement System: This is exclusively for Californian court judges. The eligibility age for members to receive pension is 60. The pension amount is calculated depending on the member’s years of service, salary received at the last office and retirement age.

Each retirement system has different rules which also affect the eligibility of disability retirement. Talk to a pensions attorney about your situation and he/she will help you with submitting your application and make sure it is accepted.