Adding Actuarial Departments

An employer has the option to cover General, Police, Fire, and Public Safety actuarial departments. Below are the ways in which an employer can cover actuarial departments:

      1. General Department ONLY
      2. General and Police, Fire, or Public Safety*
      3. General, Police, and Fire or Public Safety*
      4. General, Police, Fire, and Public Safety*

*If an employer does not elect to cover EMS Personnel, Emergency Telecommunicator First Responders, and Jailors as Public Safety Personnel, those employees will be covered in the General Department.

When an employer joins, the governing body determines which actuarial department(s) will be covered. Each department covered by the employer cannot have its coverage terminated in the future.

 

Adding Actuarial Departments After Employer Joins LAGERS

When adding actuarial departments, the process is similar to changing benefit levels, but not the same. The process is below:

      1. Request New Department Contribution Rate. Unlike when requesting a cost study for benefit changes, there will be a fee to completing the valuation based on the number of employees potentially added to the new department.
      2. Verify or Complete Personnel Data. Similar to when an employer joins, we will need to have accurate personnel data for the new department.
      3. Employer Receives Cost Information.
      4. Cost Information Made Public Information for 45 Calendar Days. Before an employer’s governing body can add a new actuarial department, the cost information must be made public information for 45 calendar days.
      5. Employer’s Governing Body Adopts Ordinance / Resolution Adding New Department.
      6. Employer sends copy of Ordinance / Resolution within 10 days of passing.

Department Definitions:

  1. General Department. These include all employees at or above the annual hours for coverage who are neither police officers or firefighters.
  2. Police Department. Employees covered in the actuarial Police Department must be POST certified employees of the Police Department working at or above the annual hours for coverage. Civilian employees working in the Police Department are considered General Employees for LAGERS purposes.
  3. Fire Department. Employees covered in the actuarial Fire Department must be working at or above the annual hours for coverage with the Fire Department for the purposes of fighting fires. Civilian employees working in the Fire Department are considered General Employees for LAGERS purposes.
  4. Public Safety Department. An employer may elect to cover EMS personnel, jailors, and emergency telecommunicator first responders as Public Safety Personnel for the purposes of determining an age 55 Normal Retirement Age. If an employer has not elected to cover a Public Safety Department, these employees are considered General Employees.

Questions?

If an employee has been reported in the wrong department, or if you have questions about which department an employee should be enrolled in, please contact your Accounts Analyst.