If you leave employment from a MercedCERA employer before you are
eligible to retire, you will be asked to make a decision about
your contributions and accrued interest in your MercedCERA
account. The choices you have may vary, depending on your Tier
and whether you are vested. Members are vested upon the
completion of five years of service (including earned and
purchased service for a MercedCERA employer and reciprocal
service. Purchased prior public service is not included).
If you leave employment, but cannot retire, please complete the
Distribution of Contributions Election Form to select one of the
following options and submit it to MercedCERA.
Establish Reciprocity
You may establish reciprocity by leaving your retirement
contributions on deposit with MercedCERA and establishing
membership in another reciprocal retirement system within six
months. Reciprocity is an election you make with both retirement
systems, exiting system and entering system. It is not
established automatically.
Become A Deferred Member
In order to be a vested member, you must have at least five years
of retirement service credit. Non-vested members have less than
five years of service credit. You may elect to become a deferred
member of MercedCERA by leaving your accumulated contributions
and interest on deposit. Your contributions will continue
to earn interest, until you either take a refund or begin
receiving a monthly retirement benefit.
Vested Member
Vested members retain their rights after terminating employment,
if they leave their contributions with MercedCERA. They can begin
receiving a monthly retirement benefit at their earliest
retirement age which is based on eligibility of the member’s
tier.
Non-Vested Member
Non-vested members are not eligible to retire until they met the
requirement of age. Tier 1 through 4 members may retire at
age 70 regardless of how many years of service you have. As a
Safety member you may retire at 65 if you were a member prior to
December 31, 1978. If the member has not opted to receive a
monthly retirement benefit by age 70, they must elect to either
take a lump sum of total contributions or apply for a monthly
retirement benefit no later than April 1 following the year in
which the member turns 72 years old. This is an IRS minimum
distribution rule.
Refunding Your Contributions
If you terminate employment, you have the option of taking a
refund of your contributions and interest, payable directly to
you or rolled into another qualified retirement account. If the
refund is payable directly to you, all pre-tax contributions plus
interest will be subject to tax withholding. Please refer to the
“Special Tax Notice Regarding Plan Payments and Federal Income
Tax” section of the Distribution of Retirement Contributions
Election form. The refund process may take up to six to eight
weeks.
Returning to MercedCERA
Upon returning to MercedCERA membership, if your funds are still
left on deposit with MercedCERA and you return to employment with
a MercedCERA employer and your earlier service credit is intact,
you will resume earning service credit. If you withdrew
your funds, you may redeposit your previously withdrawn
contributions, plus the interest. A redeposit would restore
the service credit that was forfeited by the withdrawal. Not
withdrawing funds or restoring funds may provide some advantages
in regard to Tier placement, as well as your entry age. For more
information on a redeposit, please refer to the section
on Purchasing Service Credit.
