FAQs

The Office of Retirement Services's business hours are Monday through Friday between 8 AM and 5 PM. The office is located at 1737 N. First Street, Suite 600, San Jose. We are about two miles north of City Hall at the corner of North First and Metro. If you are taking the light rail, exit at the Metro station. If you are driving, there is ample free parking behind the building. You can call the Department at (408) 794-1000 or if outside the 408 area code you can use (800) 732-6477. The email address is Retirement.Dept@sanjoseca.gov. The fax number is (408) 392-0771 or (408) 392-6732.

The first step of the application process is to submit an Application for Retirement to the Office of Retirement Services (ORS). Please see the Retirement Process Guide for more information.

When you meet with your Benefit Analyst, the Notice of Separation will be one of the forms that you will have to sign. The completed form will be forwarded to your Department to complete their part of the process.

If for any reason you want to change your primary and/or secondary beneficiaries, please complete a beneficiary designation form. You can obtain a form by clicking on the "FORMS" icon of this website to download the beneficiary designation form, you can stop by the office to pick one up, or by calling us and request that we send you a beneficiary designation form. It is wise to review your beneficiary forms annually to be sure they are as you want them to be especially if there has been a death, divorce or remarriage.

The pension you are entitled to is based on a formula. The Department can run an estimate that will show your actual years of service (YOS) worked on a given date and your average salary. This is used to calculate the monthly pension benefit. The estimate will also show the options for the continuance of benefits for your eligible spouse. You can get an estimate of your benefit online in the WEB Members Services Section of this website.

You may also review the fact sheet for your retirement plan and tier for more information on your Benefit Formula.

If you worked for the City and withdrew your contributions at the time of separation and then returned to work for the City, you can buy back the previous years of service by establishing a Contract with the City. You have an option to pay it back in lump sum or by paying a specified amount each pay period for a maximum of 78 pay periods.

If you retire prior to the payroll deadline date within your retirement month, you will receive your first retirement check on the last day of the first month of retirement. If you retire past the payroll deadline date of your retirement month, you will receive your first retirement check on the last day of the following month. You will then receive a pro-rated amount for the month your retired plus the full following month.

The Member Statements are mailed in February of each year. It is important to check all of the information for correctness and notify The Office of Retirement Services of anything that is needs to be corrected.

As an Active Member:

You can access your Account Summary - such as employee contributions, and employment/benefit years of service, Personal Information, Nominated Beneficiaries, and Estimate a Benefit. You can also retrieve the forms, including Application for Retirement, General Forms, and Name/Address Update.

As a Retired/Recipient Member:
You can see details about your monthly benefit (including insurance deduction and tax withholding), Insurance Information, Tax Withholding, Direct Deposit, Year-to-Date, 1099-R, Demographic, and Nominated Beneficiaries. You can access the general forms, Online Open Enrollment (only available during November 1 - 30), Tax Forms, Insurance Forms, and Address/Name Update.

Download a list of retirement dates