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Hi, I had the following questions for California state employees:
1. Do all state employees get both 401K and a pension? In general, what is the 401K and pension like? Most private companies don't provide pensions and only provide 401K these days, so I was wondering (a) how the 401K package from state compares to private companies in general and (b) how good is the pension offered in state jobs.
2. Are there consistent annual raises of 5% up to your position's pay range cap for all state employees provided there has been satisfactory performance each year?
3. I've read about how state employees can possibly retire at age 55 and receive a pension that
provides X % of their monthly pay based on their salary over the most recent 12-36 months of service. I think this is supposed to be a viable option for those who start at a relatively early age
and can work 30 years until age 55? What if one starts working for the state at age 40? What would
be a realistic expectation for monthly pension amount if one starts at 40 and elects to retire 15 years
later? Let's say the position starts at $4829/mo w/ a 5% annual raise up to a pay range cap of $76K
by year 6?
4. Do state employees ever get laid off (aside from for performance issues)?
5. How forgiving are state jobs when it comes to being late for work due to light rail or bus service delays, or even unusual freeway traffic/accident related delays? This is for a information systems analyst position rather than a position where you open a window and work with a queue of customers to service their needs all day (where being on time and physically present would be essential).
6. Along same lines as #5, how forgiving are state jobs when it comes to serious family health issues
that may necessitate working remotely from home sometimes in order to provide support to a family member during treatment and recovery? This is for a information systems analyst position rather than a position where you open a window and work with a queue of customers to service their needs all day (where being on time and physically present would be essential).
7. One of the benefits I saw was some partial educational reimbursement for classes taken to help
further work-related technical skills and knowledge and for career advancement. What is the % of partial reimbursement? My current employer pays for all tuition and book fees when pursuing coursework related to the current job.
8. Any tips or suggestions for someone just starting out working for the state? Pitfalls to avoid and what not would also be helpful.
I think some of these issues vary by what union your position falls into and what your bargaining unit has agreed upon. Also whether you are classified as a supervisory position, whether you get paid hourly or salary, and other factors on your specific circumstances. However, in general from my in no way complete understanding of how things work:
1. You are eligible for a pension after working full-time for a certain number of minimum years. Its based on a formula which includes a percent of your salary and number of years of service and you are not eligible to receive this until you reach a certain age. I believe in addition you can set up a savings 401k whereby money is taken out pre-tax but the percentage taken out is not matched by the state as it is in many private companies.
2. It is common for employees to be eligible for 5% increases in salary each year at your work anniversary based on performance and you do eventually cap out at the maximum amount within the range assigned to your position. You would then need to apply for a position in the next level up or for a supervisory position to increase pay.
3. You must be at least 52 to retire. To get the best formula possible for your position you need to retire after the age it specifies. For example... 2% @ 60 means you get (2% of your final salary * number of years in service) if you retire after age 60. If you worked 15 years and ended making 50k for example you'd be getting 15k per year for retirement. If you retired after 52 but before age 60 you'd be eligible for retirement money but I think it's different from the formula.
4. Yes state workers do get laid off. There were lay-offs during the recession. I believe you get priority for re-hire.
5. That would depend on the tolerance of your supervisor and people you work with in your department.
6. There are specific benefits outlined for family medical leave. It essentially boils down to a disability claim and I believe it's 50% of your salary for a set number of weeks. There are catastrophic leave benefits and you also have the ability to take unpaid leave and accept donated leave credits from other state workers in most positions.
7. I believe that is specific to your union/bargaining agreement. Some have specific professional development benefits available.
8. Do your job and do it well. Take pride in working for the public who pay your salary. Don't become one of the unfortunately many workers who take advantage of the stability of government work to just wait out retirement without contributing anything positive to their job and work place. Have some patience with the system and make sure you understand your bargaining unit agreements and benefits. If you plan to move up in position or to supervisory roles document your good work and keep track of the skills needed for the next step and be able to prove that you can do that work.
Expanding on the former answer: The position you are describing would be in Unit 1 covered by SEIU.
1. You can sign up for a 401K and you can also sign up for a 457 account. The offerings for both are the same and are pretty good. These are not mandatory programs and you have to take the initiative to join. Pension contributions are mandatory (currently 8% for Unit 1) and you have no say in amount, formula, etc. If you are just starting with the State and have not been in PERS before, you will be in the 2% at 62 formula. Retirement is possible after you vest (5 years of employment) at age 52 with a percentage of 1%. The formula maxes out at age 67 with 2.5%. Go to www.calpers.ca.gov and www.seiu1000.org to get copies of the pension booklets and the Unit 1 contract. More detail can be found there. You are also in Social Security so you contribute to that as well.
2. It depends on your starting salary whether you will get raises. I know some people who started at the max of their classification because of a wealth of experience and education. Most positions have 2 to 5 steps which are almost guaranteed if you are doing your job. Once you are maxed, you need to move to a different classification or wait for a general pay raise to bump your salary.
3. With the numbers you cited, if you start at 40 and retire at 55 with the 2% at 62 formula and $76K salary, your pension would be at maximum $14,800 (1.3% * 15 * 76K). If you are married and plan for your spouse to get anything after you die, it would be less.
4. If you are laid off, you get placed on an SROA list which gives you some priority. Depending on the number of people on the list in your classification, it may or may not be worth anything. Selection of who gets laid off depends on total state service as a "permanent" employee. Make sure you pass your first probationary period or you will never earn "permanent" employee status.
5. It totally depends on your attendance record, your supervisor and the atmosphere of your department. Some are more forgiving than others. You can stretch the limit of their patience by making these problems a habit.
6. Some departments have an "absolutely not under any circumstances" policy regarding working from home. Others embrace it. If it is important to you, ask during the interview. As far as taking time off and flexibility, see answer to number 5 unless you go the official family leave route.
7. Unit 1 has no reimbursement provisions for education. You may be able to get training through your department but that depends on the department's training budget, seniority, and a lot of other factors. I have been in departments that had no budget so no one got training ever. I have been in others that try to send everyone to a couple classes a year. Don't count on getting reimbursed for outside classes, that rarely happens now although it used to be more common.
8. Given your questions, I would suggest you stay away from the very large agencies and the very small agencies. Very small agencies tend to rely on people being there every day since there are so few employees. Large agencies tend to be less flexible.
Last edited by MyNewsLogin; 11-04-2015 at 02:57 PM..
Hi, I just had one more question.. at my current job I think one of the most valuable things to me about it is flexibility.. if I have family dr's appointments or similar events during the day time, that can't be scheduled on weekends, I am able to dip into my personal absence time bank. The organization is pretty good about allowing the freedom for such things and not frowning upon it. There was even a stretch where a family member was recovering from a health condition and I needed to work from home to monitor, sometimes for a week or two at a time. Fortunately, the nature of my job enables me to get work done remotely through VPN.
So, I was wondering about the following as it pertains to state jobs:
1. for such above stated events, is there any flexibility for state employees?
2. how likely can someone get approved a 4-day, 10 hour/day work week, freeing up 1 weekday for other things?
Once you have earned some leave time, you can use it. Sick leave and annual leave can both be used for what you describe. Flexibility, again, depends on the department, your supervisor, and your attendance record. Working from home depends on the department policy. In the department I currently work for in the IT section, there is no flexibility - the policy states that working from home is prohibited, period. There is no VPN or other remote access. All work must be done while physically present in the office. Other departments have other policies.
Some departments offer flex time such as 4/10 shifts which give you a day off every week or 9/8/80 shifts which give you a day off every two weeks. It depends on the department and your supervisor.
In my department many of the employees are eligible for one work at home day per week after they have worked for the probationary period of one year. Other employees do choose to work the flex time schedules of 9/8/80 (so work 9 hour days and take one day off every two weeks). Some also are able to work starting and finishing earlier (like come in for a7:30am and leave at 4pm).
As long as it's not compromising the work you need to get done I imagine most departments are flexible with doctor appointment visits and the like. If you are paid hourly you probably have to clock in and out to attend them but if you are salary then you either dip into your leave time or make up the extra hours.
Almost all State employees are hourly until you get into the management classifications and some of the top-tier rank and file classifications. The classification escdude was referencing is hourly so leave would have to be used to take time off during the day. Salaried employees can take time off during the day without taking leave. They have to be gone for a full day before they are required to charge it to leave. (But they also work overtime without additional compensation.)
You get paid the same every month so it looks like a salary, but it is not. Pay is based on the total number of work days in a year, divided by 12, multiplied by 8. The number of actual workdays per month is set to 21 or 22 days.
Once you have earned some leave time, you can use it. Sick leave and annual leave can both be used for what you describe. Flexibility, again, depends on the department, your supervisor, and your attendance record. Working from home depends on the department policy. In the department I currently work for in the IT section, there is no flexibility - the policy states that working from home is prohibited, period. There is no VPN or other remote access. All work must be done while physically present in the office. Other departments have other policies.
Some departments offer flex time such as 4/10 shifts which give you a day off every week or 9/8/80 shifts which give you a day off every two weeks. It depends on the department and your supervisor.
Is there any way to check ahead of time what a particular department's policy is in this regard? Is there a publicly accessible resource each department posts?
Is there any way to check ahead of time what a particular department's policy is in this regard? Is there a publicly accessible resource each department posts?
No, not really unless you know someone who works for the department. Department Administrative Manuals (DAMs) are not usually available on-line. This is something you should ask during the interview process if it is important to you. In almost every interview I have ever had, the last question was always, "Do you have any questions for us?" If they don't ask, state that you have some questions. Use that as an opportunity to explore the department's policies. Ask other questions in addition to that one including the availability flex-time (some other shift besides 8:00 - 5:00) and alternate workweek schedules (4/10 and 9/8/80). Remember an interview is a two-way conversation. They are feeling you out and you should be feeling them out.
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