2 EDCAL September 3 , 2018
Leaders in Action
CalSTRS board changes member death benefit
The following article was written by Dave Davini of the ACSA Retirement Committee .
As a CalSTRS Defined Benefit member that is active , retired , or disabled , you are entitled to receive a one-time Death Benefit . This benefit is separate from any possible lifetime monthly benefit your beneficiaries could receive after your death . Eligibility depends on your membership status at the time of your death . The benefit was $ 6,163 under coverage A and $ 24,652 under coverage B .
On May 10 , the CalSTRS board voted to increase the Death Benefit by 3.4 percent , the change in the California Consumer Price Index ( CCPI ) from December 2016 to December 2017 . This is the first increase in the benefit since 2002 . Historically , increases in the lump sum benefit above $ 5,000 have always been treated as a benefit under the 1990 benefit structure . The board has adjusted the lump-sum benefit nine times . The 2017 actuarial valuation indicated that the death benefit would have
to increase by approximately 46.1 percent to fully reflect changes in the CCPI between 2001 and December 2017 , since inflation has averaged about 2.4 percent per year in California .
The CalSTRS board realized that the Death Benefit had eroded by almost 50 percent of its 2001 value while end of life costs for members have increased dramatically . They have the discretion to adjust Death Benefit payments annually based on the CCPI . The board also realized the change they made would not significantly change the funded status of the DB program . As of July 1 , the benefit for coverage A will change to $ 6,372 and coverage B will change to $ 25,488 .
Please thank members of the CalSTRS board for increasing the Death Benefit , especially when staff recommended the Board consider changing the benefit at a later time . Members of the ACSA Retirement Committee , along with other member organizations , were diligent and effective in advocating for this increase .
• Depending on your coverage , membership status at the time of your death and option election in effect at the time of your death , your beneficiaries may be eligible for the following three benefits : 1 . One-Time Death Benefit ; 2 . Monthly Benefit ; and 3 . Defined Benefit Supplement Distribution .
• The CalSTRS Recipient Designation form , which should be kept up-to-date , is used to designate a beneficiary for both the Defined Benefit one-time death benefit and Cash Balance lump-sum payment . The designation of a recipient using this form will not protect your survivor with a lifetime benefit . To provide your survivors with a lifetime benefit , submit the Preretirement Election of an Option form when you are eligible to retire or elect an option at retirement . You may change your recipient designations at any time before or after retirement , and there is no fee or financial penalty for changing your designation . You may only change your option beneficiary designation under certain circumstances and according to certain terms and conditions .
• If you do not have a valid Recipient Designation form on file with CalSTRS before your death or if all your designated recipients predecease you , the applicable death benefits due will be paid to your estate .
• If CalSTRS is unable to locate your designated recipients , the death benefit will be distributed to the best of CalSTRS ’ s ability according to the laws in existence at the time of your death .
• Recipient Designation forms may or may not remain in effect upon dissolution of marriage or termination of registered domestic partnership , depending on the circumstances .
You may also email your questions or concerns using CalSTRS . com / contact-us or by calling ( 800 ) 228-5453 .
Leaders in Action is an occasional feature of EdCal , sharing reports from ACSA state committees and councils .
ACSA ensuring school voice is heard on wildfire legislation
ACSA has been an active participant regarding the legislative Conference Committee on Wildfire Preparedness and Response , ensuring the voice of school leaders is heard .
This conference committee was called by Gov . Brown to address a number of issues including fire prevention activities , infrastructure maintenance , safety and emergency preparedness plans and to determine responsibility for wildfires . Legislative Advocate Laura Preston said that ACSA was asked to join a coalition of local government agencies , insurance companies , consumer attorneys and others to fight the issue of inverse condemnation .
“ Inverse condemnation is the process to give property owners , including school districts , the ability to recover their costs when utilities are negligent and cause loss of property as in the case of the wildfires ,” Preston said . “ This standard has been in place for decades and supported by the courts .
“ We believe inverse condemnation works to provide a strong incentive for utilities to take action and invest in critical safety and resiliency measures , and most importantly , to give local governments and private citizens the legal standing to bring utilities to the table to settle for damages rather than take the years and costs under negligence lawsuits . The utilities are threatening bankruptcy if this is not addressed . Wall Street is downgrading their credit ratings due to their liability and cost .”
Preston said the proposal being discussed would change the liability rules for wildfires to a reasonableness test or proportionate fault . This would allow a court to assign fault to any number of parties , complicating lawsuits for victims of the fires . This change exposes school districts to additional liability and costs and adds years to making us whole . The proposal doesn ’ t impact the wildfires before Jan . 1 , 2018 but applies to all of the fires now and moving forward .
Preston wrote a letter to the conference committee that was also signed by the Coalition for Adequate School Housing , the California School Boards Association and Los Angeles USD . The letter stated in part : “ Currently , school districts have few tools available to build and modernize our schools . Schools are unable to raise fees without a vote of their community . A community devastated by a wildfire will be unable to vote to pay for any school repair . Our Average Daily Attendance , ADA , pays for our teachers , classified employees and education of our students . The schools who have been impacted by the fires have gone to the legislature for assistance to help cover their lost ADA due to school closures . However , those funds do not fully restore them . In addition , a number of districts whose employees have lost their homes resulted in their relocation . This has resulted in a shortage of teachers , janitors , food service workers , and more . How does a school district respond to the needs of their students without the resources , both human and financial ?
“ Without inverse condemnation assurances , schools would be left to pay for their school repairs , leaving our students without a school to attend or be forced to transfer to schools away from their homes . This adds to the trauma of our students and staff who have endured horrific life events through no fault of their own . Our students are unable to wait for the lengthy court process that will result from changes to inverse condemnation .
“ We believe the discussion of inverse condemnation is too important and complicated to be resolved during the final few weeks of session . Schools want to be a part of any discussion and solution to reduce the impact of wild fires and other natural disasters on our schools in order to protect our students and staff .”
ACSA will keep members apprised as developments occur .
www . acsa . org
Education California | The official newspaper of the Association of California School Administrators
EdCal ® ( USPS 684-390 , ISSN 0740-0357 ) is published Weekly , except for the following dates in 2018-19 : 7 / 2 , 7 / 9 , 7 / 23 , 8 / 6 , 8 / 20 , 9 / 10 , 9 / 24 , 10 / 15 , 10 / 29 , 11 / 12 , 11 / 26 , 12 / 10 , 12 / 17 , 12 / 24 , 12 / 31 , 1 / 7 , 2 / 18 , 4 / 8 , 5 / 13 , and 6 / 3 , by the Association of California School Administrators , 1575 Bayshore Highway , Burlingame , CA 94010 . Periodical postage paid at Bur lingame , CA 94010 and additional offices . Subscription price : $ 90 value to members ; offered to nonmembers on a qualifying basis . For further information , contact the membership department at ( 650 ) 692-4300 . POSTMASTER : Send address changes to EdCal , c / o ACSA , 1575 Bayshore Highway , Burlingame , CA 94010 .
EdCal keeps ACSA members informed of association activities , efforts on their behalf and issues pertinent to education and education administration . Ad vertising or the mention of products , services or programs in EdCal does not imply endorsement by ACSA .
ACSA is affiliated with the National Association of School Superintendents , Nation al Association of Secondary School Principals , National Association of Elem entary School Principals , American Associa tion of School Personnel Administrators , California Association of Latino Superintendents and Administrators , Ca lifornia Associa tion of Education Office Pro fes sionals and the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education .
Editorial Offices : 1029 J St ., Suite 500 , Sacramento , CA 95814 ; ( 916 ) 444-3216
• Job ads : e-mail careerconnect @ acsa . org
• News : e-mail crodda @ acsa . org
ACSA Executive Director , Wesley Smith Senior Director of Communications / PIO , Naj Alikhan
Chief Operations Officer , Scarlett Vanyi ; Senior Director of Member Services , Margarita Cuizon ; Chief Marketing Officer , Tatia Davenport ; Senior Director of Educational Services , Margaret Arthofer ; Senior Directors of Governmental Relations , Edgar Zazueta and Adonai Mack ; Senior Director of Information Technology , Tony Baldwin
EdCal Editor , Cary Rodda Advertising / Website Coordinator , Emily Agpoon Content Specialists , Michael Kelly and Darcy Totten ACSA CareerConnect Coordinator , Tracy Olmedo
ACSA Board of Directors President , Holly Edds President-elect , Linda Kaminski Vice President , Ron Williams VP for Legislative Action , Terri Rufert Past President , Lisa Gonzales
Members : Charlie Hoffman , Christine McCormick , Daniel Hernandez , Tim Gill , Jay Spaulding , Parvin Ahmadi , Denise Wickham , Juan Cruz , Ana Boyenga , Barbara Martinez , Blanca Cavazos , Ted Alejandre , Craig Helmstedter , Victor Thompson , Sue Kaiser , Angel Barrett , Rafael Plascencia , Joe Austin , Mike McCormick , Linda Hutcherson , Lisa Ketchum , Daryl Camp , Derrick Chau
Burlingame , ( 650 ) 692-4300 • Sacramento , ( 916 ) 444-3216 • Ontario , ( 909 ) 484-7503 • toll-free ( 800 ) 608-ACSA
This series introduces ACSA staff to members . These are the people working tirelessly for you each and every day .
Who : Celisse Muller
Job : Marketing Program Specialist
Celisse acts as a liaison between ACSA and our partners . She also manages sponsorships and exhibitors at ACSA events .
Favorite place she ’ s been :
Celisse once worked for a company that sent her to the Phillipines for three months to establish a customer service and design center . She loved exploring Cebu City during her off hours .
ACSA . We work for you .