City
Port
AirportSDCERS Retirement Plan Summary
Port General Members hired or Rehired on or after January 1, 2024
Overview
SDCERS was established by the City of San Diego in 1927 to administer retirement benefits for its Members. Since the San Diego Unified Port District was established in 1962, SDCERS has administered the Port’s retirement plan for Port employees. SDCERS provides benefits to its vested Members when they retire. SDCERS’ responsibilities include collecting contributions, making payments, investing earnings, and managing the retirement fund with direction from a 13-member Board of Administration (Board).
You become a Member of SDCERS after you are appointed to a position as any classified or unclassified, full-time Port employee. Required pre-tax contributions will be automatically deducted from your bi-weekly paycheck, transmitted to SDCERS, and deposited into the retirement fund.
Your defined benefit plan with the Port is a retirement plan to which you make contributions while you are a Member, and that entitles you to a benefit, once eligible, from the time you retire until your death.
Plan Sponsor
San Diego Unified Port District
Plan Name
Port General 2024
Hire Date
Initially hired on or after January 1, 2024; OR
Initially hired between January 1, 2013 and January 1, 2024 but either 1) was represented by Teamsters Local 911 and made an irrevocable election to participate in the Plan as a General 2024 Member effective January 1, 2024; or 2) terminated Port employment and was subsequently rehired on or after January 1, 2024 (becoming a blended member – see Blended Membership Fact Sheet for more information).
Note: If member established incoming reciprocity and has a reciprocal hire date before 2013, they will belong to the Port General Miscellaneous plan tier.
Member Contribution Rate
Members in this plan tier all have the same contribution rate: 9.00%
Earning Service Credit
Miscellaneous Members begin earning service credit on the first day of employment in a benefitted position, on or after January 1, 2024. Service Credit represents the amount of time you have earned in the retirement system as a contributing Member of SDCERS. It is one of the factors used in determining your eligibility and pension benefit amount.
Vesting
You must have at least five full years of service credit as a contributing Member of SDCERS to be vested in the retirement system and eligible for retirement benefits once you have met the minimum age requirement. (Note: Reciprocal service credit may be used to satisfy vesting requirements.)
Service Retirement Eligibility
- Age 52 (or older) with five or more years of service credit
Pension Benefit
Your service retirement benefit is based on a formula which includes:
- Retirement Factor;
- Service Credit; and
- Final Compensation (your highest pensionable pay averaged over 36 consecutive months).
Pension Benefit Formula
(Retirement Factor) x (Service Credit) x (Final Compensation)
Retirement Factor
1% per year of service at age 52, increasing to 2.5% at age 67.
Compensation Cap
Cannot exceed limits under PEPRA, Govt. Code §§ 7522.10 and 7522.42. In general, because Port members participate in Social Security, the cap on the amount of compensation that can be used to calculate your SDCERS benefit under PEPRA is capped at 100% of the Social Security wage index limit on January 1, 2013 ($113,000 approx.) indexed to inflation based on the CPI for All Urban Consumers. Adjustments will be effective annually each January 1 following the annual valuation.
The calendar year 2026 compensation limit for Port General 2024 Members is $159,733.
Create a Member Portal account to calculate your estimated future pension benefit.