YOUR PENSION
ERF is a defined benefit plan for City of Dallas permanent, civilian employees. The plan provides retirement, disability and survivor benefits to Fund members and their beneficiaries.
Any employee who has contributed to the Fund for five years is considered to be vested in the Fund. Tier A members age 60 and over and Tier B members age 65 and over are vested in the Fund.
If you are a Tier A member under age 60 or a Tier B member under age 65 and you leave the City before completing five years of service, you are not vested and must take a refund of your contributions or roll them over into another qualified plan.
All permanent, civilian City of Dallas employees are members of ERF. You don't need to enroll; your contributions to the Fund are automatically deducted from your wages.
You are not eligible to participate in the Fund if you are an elected or non-salaried appointed official, a contract employee, an employee working less than 20 hours per week and not contributing to the Fund or a uniformed employee of the Police or Fire Department.
Both you and the City make contributions to the Fund; the City contributes 63% and employees contribute 37% of the total contribution rate. The City makes their contribution to the Fund on behalf of its members. City employees do not participate in the Federal Social Security System.
Effective October 1, 2020, the contribution rate for employees is 13.32% and the City's contribution is 22.68%.
Your automatic payroll deduction will appear on your pay stub as Employees' Retirement Fund. All contributions are taken before taxes, which means you do not have to pay taxes on them until you withdraw them. Contributions made prior to December 16, 1997 are the only exception as they have already been taxed.
Payroll deductions continue until you leave the City or become ineligible to participate in the Fund. Because your contributions are a percentage of your wages, your payroll deductions will automatically adjust if your pay rate changes.
TIER A BENEFITS
PLAN ENTRY: On or before December 31, 2016
MULTIPLIER: 2.75%
NORMAL RETIREMENT: Age 60
SERVICE RETIREMENT: 30 years of Service
RULE OF 78: Not Reduced
FINAL AVERAGE PAY: Best of 3 Years or Last 36 Months
RETIREE COLA: Maximum 5%
RESTRICTED PRIOR SERVICE CREDIT: Not qualified unless returning after forfeiting pension
LIFE BENEFIT: Not Reduced
JOINT & HALF BENEFIT: Not Reduced
JOINT & FULL BENEFIT: Reduced
HEALTH BENEFIT SUPPLEMENT: Maximum $125
TIER B BENEFITS
PLAN ENTRY: After December 31, 2016
MULTIPLIER: 2.50%
NORMAL RETIREMENT: Age 65 with 5 years Service
SERVICE RETIREMENT: 40 years of Service
RULE OF 80: Reduced Before Age 65
FINAL AVERAGE PAY: Best of 5 Years or Last 60 Months
RETIREE COLA: Maximum 3%
RESTRICTED PRIOR SERVICE CREDIT: Yes
LIFE BENEFIT: Not Reduced
JOINT & HALF BENEFIT: Reduced
JOINT & FULL BENEFIT: Reduced
There are three ways to retire from the City of Dallas:
NORMAL RETIREMENTUnder Normal Retirement, you can retire at age 60 with no minimum service requirement.
SERVICE RETIREMENT
Service Retirement states that you can retire after 30 years of credited service regardless of your age; however, if you are under age 50 at retirement, your pension will be actuarially reduced. For example, at age 49, it will be reduced by 6.7%; at age 48, it will be reduced by 12.8% and so on.
RULE OF 78
The Rule of 78 is the most common way City of Dallas employees retire. The Rule of 78 states that if your age and years of credited service add together to equal 78 or more, you can retire at or after age 50.
Your pension is calculated using a formula that includes your total service credit, the 2.75% multiplier and the average of your monthly pay during your three highest paid years or last 36 months. Your pension may not exceed 100% of your average monthly salary. Following is the formula used to calculate your pension:
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(Years of Service) x (2.75%) = % Monthly Salary Earned |
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(Average Monthly Salary) x (% Monthly Salary Earned) = Estimated Monthly Pension |
To help manage the costs of healthcare after you retire or to help your beneficiaries after your death, ERF will pay you a health benefit supplement in addition to your pension.
You will receive $25 per month for each full year of service credit, up to $125 per month.
Every year, ERF uses the Consumer Price Index to calculate a cost of living adjustment. These adjustments are made in January and may not exceed 5% of your base pension, the pension amount you received when you first retired, and will be added to your current pension amount.
There are three ways to retire from the City of Dallas:
NORMAL RETIREMENT
Under Normal Retirement, you can retire at age 65 with 5 years of pension service.
SERVICE RETIREMENT
Service Retirement states that you can retire after 40 years of credited service regardless of your age; however, if you are under age 65 at retirement, your pension will not be reduced.
RULE OF 80
The Rule of 80 states that if your age and years of credited service add together to equal 80 or more, you can retire at or after age 65.
Your pension is calculated using a formula that includes your total service credit, the 2.5% multiplier and the average of your monthly pay during your five highest paid years or last 60 months. Your pension may not exceed 100% of your average monthly salary. Following is the formula used to calculate your pension:
|
(Years of Service) x (2.5%) = % Monthly Salary Earned |
|
(Average Monthly Salary) x (% Monthly Salary Earned) = Estimated Monthly Pension |
Every year, ERF uses the Consumer Price Index to calculate a cost of living adjustment. These adjustments are made in January and may not exceed 3% of your base pension, the pension amount you received when you first retired, and will be added to your current pension amount.
DISABILITY, DIVORCE & YOUR PENSION
Did you know that having a disability or getting a divorce can affect how much you get for retirement?
Learn more on how this affects you.
MEMBER FORMS
Most ERF forms are available online and on Retire Now.
To submit a form, locate the form you need and click on the form title. Your form will open in a new window and can be completed online.
Retirement forms must be submitted through Retire Now. Click below to learn more about the Retire Now portal.
READY TO RETIRE?
Deciding to retire is a big decision!
It is very important that you know if you are ready or not to retire. At ERF, we take pride in providing excellent service to our members as they plan for retirement.
We are here to guide you through your retirement process with ease using the Retire Now portal.
TRANSITIONING TO MEDICARE
If you or your spouse are currently enrolled in a City of Dallas health insurance plan and are within three months of your 65th birthday, you are eligible to sign up for Medicare and enroll in one of the City’s sponsored Medicare supplement plans. You can apply for Medicare online or any local Social Security office.
For additional information or to find an office near you, visit www.ssa.gov or call 800-772-1213. For information about Medicare Meetings, contact the City of Dallas Benefits department at 214-671-6947, Option 1.