Plan Book D for General Members

Skip to main content

Sign in to My LACERA

Begin content
Section 8:

Disability Retirement

What It Is and Who Is Eligible

Plan D provides disability retirement benefits for active members who are determined by the Board of Retirement (BOR) to be permanently incapacitated for the performance of their regular job duties. A member who has withdrawn his or her retirement contributions is not eligible for a disability retirement.

There are two types of disability retirement. The circumstances surrounding the disability determine which type applies.

  • Service-connected disability (SCD) — Permanent disability resulting from an illness or injury directly related to your County employment. The BOR must find a direct causational link to the workplace in order to grant a SCD retirement.
  • Nonservice-connected disability (NSCD) — Permanent disability resulting from an illness or injury not related to your County employment.

Note: A member who is found by the BOR to be permanently incapacitated for the performance of his or her regular job duties but is capable of performing the duties of another County position may be eligible for an SCD or NSCD Salary Supplement. In such case, should the member opt to accept a lower-paying County position, LACERA will supplement the difference in compensation.

More information

SCD: Eligibility Requirements

A Plan D member who becomes permanently incapacitated for the performance of his or her regular job duties due to an SCD may apply to receive an SCD retirement allowance. There is no age or service requirement.*

*Certain service requirements apply to members who transferred prospectively to Plan D from Plan E.

NSCD: Eligibility Requirements

Any eligible Plan D member who has at least five years (120 pay periods) of County (or County and reciprocal) service credit and becomes permanently incapacitated for the performance of his or her regular job duties due to an NSCD may apply to receive an NSCD retirement allowance. There is no age requirement.

An eligible Plan D member is anyone who:

  • Has been in Plan D exclusively or
  • Completed an Open Window Transfer to Plan D from Plan E or
  • Transferred to Plan D prospectively from Plan E and meets either of the following conditions:
    • Completed two years of continuous service as an active Plan D member after his/her most recent effective date of transfer. (During that two-year period, the member must not take a medical leave necessitated by a preexisting condition.)
    • Or, if you had a break in service, you must have earned five years of service credit as an active Plan D member after your most recent effective date of transfer.

Members who transferred to Plan D from Plan E via a Prospective Plan Transfer (PPT): Prior to 2011, the law placed restrictions on members who had transferred from Plan E to Plan D via a PPT and were determined by the Board of Retirement not to have met the required disability application eligibility conditions. Those restrictions, which included three-years of service in Plan D prior to transferring back to Plan E, no longer apply. Affected Plan D members are now permitted to transfer back to Plan E and continue under the County LTD program as a Plan E member.

Under certain circumstances, it may be more advantageous for the affected member to continue LTD benefits under Plan E than under Plan D. Factors such as the member’s age, amount of service credit, and election of LTD Health Insurance may influence whether the member transfers back to Plan E or remains in Plan D.

For more information regarding Plan D eligibility, call 800-786-6464 to speak with a LACERA Retirement Benefits Specialist.

Benefit Amounts

The benefit amount payable depends on the type of disability retirement granted and the amount of the member’s final compensation. Disability retirement allowances granted to Plan D members are eligible for annual COLA adjustments.

A member who is eligible to retire may elect a service retirement and receive the applicable retirement benefit while his or her application for a disability retirement is pending.

The SCD benefit is the higher of:

  • One-half of the member’s final compensation, or
  • The member’s full service retirement allowance (if eligible)

County SCD Healthcare Subsidy: The County contributes a minimum of 50 percent of the member’s selected retiree medical/dental plan premium or a minimum of 50 percent of the benchmark plan premium, whichever is less. For members with more than 13 years of service credit, the County pays the percentage to which the member is otherwise entitled under the County’s retiree healthcare subsidy.

Tax Note: The Internal Revenue Code grants special tax exclusions for certain SCD retirement benefits. Section 104(a)(1) of the Code provides that an amount equal to 50 percent of the member’s final compensation may be excludable from his or her gross income for federal tax purposes. The amount of any COLA adjustment attributable to that amount may also be excludable. Any remaining portion of the allowance is taxable.

Eligible surviving spouses or children who receive a monthly continuing benefit following the SCD retiree’s death are also entitled to this IRS tax benefit. The benefit does not apply to ex-spouses or surviving domestic partners.

The NSCD benefit is the higher of:

  • An amount based on age and length of service up to one-third of the member’s final compensation, or
  • The member’s full service retirement allowance (if eligible)

If the NSCD disability applicant is eligible for a service retirement and the amount of that service retirement allowance is greater than the amount of the disability retirement allowance, the member may prefer to elect a service retirement rather than applying for an NCSD retirement. The benefit amount would be the same and since it would not be subject to the lengthy disability review process, the allowance would begin more quickly.

On NSCDs, the County healthcare subsidy applies to members with 10 or more years of service credit; no exceptions are made on NSCDs with less than 10 years of service credit. (See Paying for Coverage for details on the County retiree healthcare subsidy.)

Double Accounts: Disability Benefits

A member with a double account resulting from a prospective transfer from Plan E to Plan D who is granted a disability retirement under Plan D is not eligible to receive Plan E service retirement benefits. The benefit the member will receive depends on the type of disability retirement granted.

If the member is granted an SCD retirement, he or she would receive the greatest of:

  • One-half of his or her final compensation, or
  • The full amount of a service retirement allowance, or
  • The combined benefit the member would have received had he or she been entitled to a service retirement from both Plan D and Plan E

If the member is granted an NSCD retirement, he or she would receive the greater of:

  • An amount based on age and length of service up to one-third of the member’s final compensation, or
  • The full amount of a Plan D service retirement allowance

When You Must Apply

An application for either type of disability retirement must be submitted:

  • While you are still employed, or
  • Within four months after you have terminated employment, or
  • Any time after terminating employment, provided you can prove
    • You are physically or mentally unable to perform your regular job duties, and that condition has been continuous from the date of separation
    • A delay in filing your application has not impaired LACERA’s ability to investigate your case

If you are terminally ill and wish to provide a continuing benefit to your survivor, you or your authorized representative should contact LACERA immediately at 800-786-6464. LACERA will expedite the processing of your disability retirement application.

Effective Date

The effective date of disability retirement is governed by CERL. Generally, a disability retirement allowance becomes effective as of the date the application is filed with LACERA, but not earlier than the day following the last day of regular compensation.

Additional information regarding filing for disability retirement is included in the Employee Disability Retirement Package, which is available to order on the Forms & Publications page.

Continuing Benefits

Continuing benefits for disability retirement vary according to the type of disability retirement granted.

SCD continuing benefit for a surviving spouse or domestic partner

If the Unmodified Option was elected:

  • 100 percent of member’s monthly SCD allowance for life
  • Marriage or registration of domestic partnership must have occurred prior to member’s retirement; one-year requirement does not apply

If one of the numbered Retirement Options was elected, the benefit paid to beneficiaries will be based upon the Option chosen.

NSCD continuing benefit for a surviving spouse or domestic partner

If the Unmodified Option was elected:

  • 65 percent of member’s monthly allowance for life
  • Marriage or registration of domestic partnership must have occurred one year prior to member’s retirement

County Long-Term Disability and Survivor Benefit Plan

As an active County employee, you may also be entitled to benefits under the County-administered Long-Term Disability and Survivor Benefit Plan. Contact your Department for more information.