Mid-Career

Post

At this point in your mid-career journey, you should feel more confident and prepared for your secure retirement. More detailed planning now ensures you feel fully ready to enjoy your well-earned retirement.

Financial planning:

  • Tracking your income sources over your career will give you a more accurate picture of what you can expect upon retirement. Consider any other federal, state, or county pensions, Social Security, Deferred Compensation Plans, and personal savings.  
  • Review your OCERS Summary Plan Description (SPD) for more information on your plan benefits.

Submit your documents:

  • Make sure that your beneficiary designations are up to date. You want to ensure that your beneficiaries are correctly listed, as they cannot be changed post-retirement.
  • If you haven’t already, gather your personal documents to submit to OCERS as soon as possible:
    • Original copy of your birth certificate
    • Marriage or domestic partnership certificate
    • Your spouse or domestic partner’s birth certificate
      • These documents are needed to process your retirement, so make sure you locate them and submit in advance.
  • Submit any divorce documents (if applicable) for OCERS legal staff to review. OCERS benefits are considered community property under California law and may be impacted by divorce.

Attend an OCERS Pre-Retirement Seminar:

  • Your mid-career point is a great time to attend a Pre-Retirement Seminar at OCERS, or one provided by your employer. You may have visited us at various benefits fairs or perused through our website, but now is when you’ll want to hone in on the specifics.
  • Hear directly from OCERS about your retirement benefits. You’ll also see presentations from the Social Security Administration, your Deferred Compensation Plans, Social Security, and the Retired Employees Association of Orange County (REAOC).
  • Take this opportunity to ask questions to our Retirement Program Specialists in-person about your own career and retirement plans.

Resources

External Resources