Your ability to retire is very import to the City, and to make sure your retirement years are successful, the City offers a full range of benefits.
In order for you to have enough resources in retirement, the City provides three different retirement options.
- Denver Employee's Retirement Plan (DERP)
- Social Security
- Deferred compensation (or 457 Plan)
DERP
All permanent employees are automatically enrolled in the Denver Employee's Retirement Plan (DERP), also known as the Plan. The Plan is a pension plan which provides a lifetime monthly retirement benefit for all vested City Employees.
In general, you are eligible to receive these benefits after 5 years of continuous service and upon reaching the age of 65. The benefit varies based on your salary and length of service.
- You contribute 2.5% of your total gross salary to the trust fund for your retirement.
- The City and County of Denver contributes 8.5% to the trust fund.
These contributions are made on a pretax basis through payroll deductions. Please visit
www.derp.org to read more about the Plan. The lifetime monthly benefit you will receive from the Plan will provide a portion of your retirement income.
Social Security
Both you and the City contribute to Social Security. The benefit for social security varies. Visit
www.socialsecurity.gov for more information.
Deferred Compensation (457 Plan)
The 457, or deferred compensation plan, is the City’s voluntary retirement savings plan (similar to a 401K plan in the private sector). Deferred compensation is a way for you to set aside money via payroll deduction on a pre-tax basis to save for retirement and defer taxes on any earnings from your investments.
The City does not match 457 plan contributions.
- You may enroll, increase, decrease your deferred compensation contributions at any time.
- Unlike a 401(k) or 403(b), there is no 10% penalty for withdrawal before the age of 59 1/2 (although the withdrawal is subject to ordinary income taxation). This means you have immediate access to the funds if you leave the City for any reason.
- If you choose to participate, you will need to enroll with one of the two third party administrators Cooney and Associates (Hartford Insurance) or ICMA-RC.
Via payroll deduction, employees are able to contribute as little as $10, and up to 100% of their total pre-tax pay (not to exceed the annual contribution limits) and choose their investments to build funding for retirement. Employees save in three ways:
- you do not pay taxes on this money upon deduction.
- your paycheck is taxed only on the amount after this deduction.
- you are then taxed on the funds when they retire and are more likely to be in a lower tax bracket.
Annual Contribution Limits:
- Under 50: $16,500
- 50+ catch-up: $22,000
- Pre-retirement Catch-up: $33,000
The City utilizes two deferred compensation companies, each of whom has multiple investment options:
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Please forward completed forms to CSA Benefits for processing. You may send completed forms by fax to (720) 913-5548 or through interoffice mail.
