Participating in the Plan is one of the best ways to save money for your retirement years, and one of the few methods available today to reduce current income taxes. Your deferral is subtracted from your pay before taxes are taken out. It is then invested in the investment options you choose.

• Permanent, full-time employees
• Permanent, part-time employees, permanently scheduled to work at least half time (37 ½ hours per pay period or more)
• Project positions, permanently scheduled to work at least half time (37 ½ hours per pay period or more)
• Provisional employees including Retired Annuitants and any rehired employee

A Retired Annuitant is an eligible employee and can participate and contribute to the 457(b) Plan just like any other employee of the County.

Yes. If a Retired Annuitant had previously elected a periodic payment from the 457(b) Plan (e.g., monthly installments for life) then such payments are not suspended upon rehire. The prior installment payments continue to be based on his or her account at prior termination.

A Retired Annuitant can make new contributions to the 457(b) Plan upon rehire. Any new monies contributed to a new account under the 457(b) Plan after rehire are subject to separate distribution election at subsequent termination. Any new contributions cannot be distributed until a later termination. Thus, the Retired Annuitant’s account is segregated (amounts being paid under previously elected installment method and then post rehire amounts available for distribution at later termination).

No. Any Employee who elected an installment distribution and then is rehired in any capacity is treated in the same manner. There is no rule requiring suspension of the prior installments for any employee.

If the Retired Annuitant never enrolled in the 457(b) Plan and thus is not receiving installment payments from the 457(b) Plan, there is no reason to maintain a separate account. Therefore, he/she will be enrolled in the old 457(b) account.

No, it is the same plan. Retired Annuitants are just eligible to participate upon rehire (like other employees) and just a few special rules are triggered on the administration side (e.g. the ability to continue installments, etc). As a result, a separate account needs to be maintained.

Yes. A RMD is not required on the terminated account as long as you are working as a Retired Annuitant, even if you choose not to contribute new monies to the 457(b) Plan upon rehire. If a Retired Annuitant is working for the County at the time he or she attains age 70 1/2, RMDs are not required. The IRS (and 457(b) Plan) generally require RMDs upon the later of termination of employment with the County or attainment of age 70 1/2. However, if you already started receiving RMD payments from your terminated account before your rehire, those payments would continue.

Repayment of loans will continue with the coupons rather than with payroll deductions.

No. If you are rehired by the County as a Retired Annuitant and did not previously elect a distribution of your account at prior termination, you cannot elect a distribution of your prior 457(b) account until you incur a new distribution event under the terms of the 457(b) Plan (e.g., termination of employment).

The minimum contribution is $20 or 1.5% each pay period.

Year: 2024

Regular: $23,000.00

50+ Catch-up: $30,500.00

The taxable income reported in the annual W2 form is reduced by the amount you deferred during the taxable year.

Yes. If you did not defer at the maximum levels in earlier years, you may, under certain circumstances, qualify to exceed the regular maximum in one or more of the three calendar years immediately prior to your attaining normal retirement age. The Treasurer’s Office can provide further assistance and can explain what age is considered “normal retirement age”, which varies for different types of employee groups.

You can increase, decrease, or stop your contributions at any time. If you stop contributing, you may restart at any time. See the section on forms to request the appropriate form.

The Plan currently is administered by Prudential Retirement Services, Inc., one of the largest defined contribution managers with over 70 years of retirement services experience.

Participating in the Deferred Compensation Plan does not affect your ability to have an IRA. However, depending on your income and marital status, you may not qualify to deduct contributions to an IRA. Consult your tax advisor for more information.

No, you are entitled to exactly the same Social Security and County retirement benefits whether or not you join the Deferred Compensation Plan.

No, the County of Alameda does not make any matching contributions to your account.

To enroll, you must file Enrollment forms with the Treasurer’s Office. Request a Deferred Compensation Plan Retirement Workbook from the Treasurer’s Office or click here to download. 

Yes. You can enroll and contribute to both a designated Roth after-tax source and a traditional pre-tax source in the same year in any proportion within the annual limit you choose. If you are already enrolled in the traditional pre-tax deferred compensation account you can add a Roth source using the Payroll Modification Form to designate your contributions.

The Deferred Compensation Plan may be better for a number of reasons. With deferred compensation, every dollar you contribute and earn is tax-deferred. With an IRA, your contributions may not be tax-deferred (consult your tax advisor). Another advantage of the Deferred Compensation Plan is that it makes saving automatic through payroll deductions, whereas an IRA requires a conscious decision and self-discipline to make deposits.

Deferred Compensation gives you a significant tax break because the program allows you to invest the full amount of your contribution, pre-tax. In conventional savings, there is no tax-deferral privilege, thus, your savings are essentially reduced by the taxes you have to pay on the taxable income.

It makes a huge difference. If you begin saving $100 each pay period today and earn an average of 8% annually, in 20 years you’ll have $123,862 available. If you wait five years to start, in 15 years your account would have only $73,492. That’s a $50,000 difference in your account. Over time, compounding of earnings contributes a significant amount to the growth of your savings.

You should contribute as much toward your retirement as you can afford, because every extra dollar you save will have an enormous impact over the long term. The Deferred Compensation Plan Retirement Workbook includes an exercise to help you determine how much you need to retire, and illustrates how compounding accelerates your money’s growth from year to year and how tax-deferred investing beats taxable investing.

GoalMaker is an asset allocation service designed to help you determine where to direct your Deferred Compensation Plan contributions. In other words, GoalMaker helps you choose a model portfolio utilizing the investment options in your plan. Using these existing investment options as building blocks, GoalMaker lets you select from twelve different model portfolios. Model portfolios are based upon your risk tolerance–conservative, moderate, or aggressive–and your time horizon until retirement. These portfolios make it easier for you to diversify your holdings without becoming an expert at asset allocation. GoalMaker offers an efficient approach for participants who prefer to have professional asset allocation.

To participate in, or learn more about GoalMaker contact the Treasurer’s Office at (510) 272-6809 or Prudential at 800-833-5761, or log on to the Online Retirement Center.

Also, review the detailed investment information in the Retirement Workbook.

The County of Alameda is committed to offering the best retirement products and services available.

Frequently asked questions and forms are available on the Intranet and Internet.

The Treasurer’s Office will provide you with additional Plan information.

The Empower Retirement Services website allows you to access and manage your account information 24 hours a day.

Empower Retirement Services will provide personal assistance during working hours and their Voice Response Service may be accessed 24-hours a day.

Local Empower Representatives (Financial Advisor of Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC, and Emerge Financial Group) will provide you with personalized service if needed, including assistance in enrollment and retirement planning.

Assets may be transferred and future contributions may be re-allocated over the phone and the Internet.

Quarterly account statements showing account balance, confirmation of transactions, and investment results are provided to participants.

Mutual funds are not insured against market fluctuations. They are insured against fraud and embezzlement.

The Treasurer and his Deferred Compensation Plan staff cannot give investment advice, but the Office provides you with the materials you need to make an informed decision. The ultimate decision lies with you as the investor. The local Empower Representatives will provide you with personalized service if needed, including retirement planning. Click here to meet your Representatives.

Quarterly account statements showing account balance, confirmation of transactions, and investment results are provided to participants by Prudential Retirement Services. Fund performance and prices may be obtained through the Prudential website.

Submit a Change of Name or Address Form or Beneficiary Designation Form to the Treasurer’s Office.

Unrestricted exchanges are allowed among the investment options, with the following exception:

Market timing, which is a type of excess trading, is the process of making frequent transfers into and out of the same fund over a short period. One or more “round trip” trades in the same fund within a 30 day period in which each buy and sell transaction is greater than $25,000 and where the trading pattern is not due to a systematic account rebalancing as part of a long term asset allocation strategy, payroll contribution, or other retirement planning activity. Any excessive trading can harm a fund’s performance and the retirement security of long-term investors by increasing transaction cost and/or disrupting the portfolio manager’s strategy.

To exchange between funds, contact Prudential Retirement Services or the Prudential website.

All exchange requests are effective the same day that Prudential receives them, if received prior to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Exchange requests received after 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time are processed the next business day. Your exchange is processed using closing market prices on the day your transaction is processed.

After each transaction, you will receive a written confirmation from Empower. This will be mailed to your home address of record. This applies to transactions submitted by mail on the appropriate form, by phone, or on the Internet.

You may also contact Empower Retirement Services or the Empower website to confirm transactions.

To discontinue or restart deferrals, submit a Payroll Modification form online through DocuSign to the Treasurer’s Office. Payroll modifications are effective the month following receipt by the Treasurer’s Office and not less than two (2) pay periods.

Deferrals or changes to your payroll contributions are effective the month following receipt by the Treasurer’s Office and not less than two (2) pay periods.

The following conditions allow payout of benefits:

• Separation from service, either by retirement or resignation
• Death
• In-service withdrawal

However, a special circumstance allows in-service withdrawal of funds, i.e., a financial hardship withdrawal. This type of withdrawal has strict qualifying requirements. The Treasurer’s Office will provide a financial hardship application if you need one.

Payment methods available are:

• A lump sum payment
• A partial lump sum payment
• Systematic payments
• An annuity contract
• Total or Partial Direct Rollover to a traditional IRA
• Deferral of receipt of funds

For more information, print a Payout Request form and Payout Instructions.

Effective January 1. 2020, the new age that RMDs must start is 72, or the year in which you stop working, if later. You must begin receiving payment no later than April 1 of the following year. RMDs for individuals who turned 70 1/2 in 2019 are not delayed, and instead, must continue to take their RMDs under the same rules prior to the passage of the SECURE Act.

If you are thinking about leaving employment or if you have already separated, print the Payout Request Form (Distribution Election for Governmental 457 Plans) or Systematic Disbursement Form, and Payout Instructions. This packet of information includes general information and instructions regarding payout options and instructions/procedures for distribution of funds. You may request the forms and information from the Treasurer’s Office.

If you do not want to take an immediate payout, choose the option, “Defer receipt of benefits until a later date” on the form.

In the event of your death, your designated beneficiary is eligible to withdraw your Deferred Compensation Plan benefits. Your beneficiary has 60 days to notify the Treasurer’s Office for when to begin payments.

No, you cannot withdraw your Plan assets while still employed.

You may only receive an in-service withdrawal due to a financial hardship caused by an unforeseeable emergency as defined by the IRS.

Yes, you can make an in-service withdrawal of funds from contributions rolled-over from an outside qualified plan.

While it may be beneficial to leave the account with the County, after leaving County service, assets from the deferred compensation plan may be rolled over to a traditional IRA or Roth IRA. You may also transfer your assets in the Alameda County plan to another public agency’s 457 Deferred Compensation Plan, if that agency’s plan accepts rollover assets.

While in County service you may make an in-service direct rollover from your account of pre-taxed amounts attributable to rollover contribution, to an IRA. The type of IRA depends upon the type of rollover contribution you have in your account: Roth 457(b) rollover, pre-taxed 457(b) rollover, or pre-tax non-457(b) rollover. You may also transfer your assets in the Alameda County plan to another public agency’s 457 Deferred Compensation Plan, if that agency’s plan accepts rollover assets.

Yes, you can apply for up to two loans at a time. This means that you can now borrow up to a combined maximum of 50% of your vested account balance (not to exceed $50,000 in any 12 month period). There is a $50 application fee for each loan with payments made via payroll deduction. General purpose loans may take up to five years to be repaid. Loans requested for purposes of purchasing a primary residence may take up to fifteen years to be repaid. It is important to note that there is a 12 month waiting period between loans and the sum of your loans. To learn more go to DCP Loan Program Q and A and/or call Prudential Retirement® at 855-969-4572 (855-wow-457b) and press 1.

To view the Loan Policy, click here.

Contact Person:

Lyssa DeGolia

(510) 227-6916

1115 Atlantic Avenue

Alameda, CA 94501

QIC 30901

Fax: (510) 227-6901

Subplan: 001881 003373 

Contact Person:

Josie Chou

(925) 833-3473

6363 Clark Avenue

Dublin, CA 94568

QIC 81301

Fax: (925) 875-9387

Subplan: 001881 003393

Contact Person:

Dwana Black

(510) 891-6079

Rene C. Davidson Courthouse

1225 Fallon Street, Room 105

Oakland, CA 94612

QIC 20714

Fax: (510) 891-6085

Subplan: 001881 004001