Almost every member of this department, sworn or civilian, will one day retire from service.  One of the most important elements of this process involves the change from the active member payroll system –  the County Auditor Controller – to the retired member payroll system – L.A.C.E.R.A.  During the process of switching payroll systems, all deductions which were previously taken out of your check by the CAO’s office must now be reinstated by you, the retiree, with L.A.C.E.R.A.   Hence, to remain a member of SRA you must rejoin SRA. 

After retiring, you will receive a letter from SRA advising you of the opportunity to rejoin and continue your membership.  This letter is sent to the last known address we have on file.   If we do not receive a return letter indicating your wish to rejoin SRA, a second letter will be sent to that same address.  That will be your last opportunity to rejoin Sheriffs’ Relief.  That brings up two extremely important points you should be aware of so that you do not let your continued membership expire.

1. SRA needs to have your most current mailing and/or email address on file so that if the need arises, we can successfully contact you.
   
2. Of equal importance is the fact that anyway you cut it, the ability to continue receiving your mortuary benefits with SRA would in and of itself be a primary reason for continuing your membership. Losing this benefit would be tragic at best and foolish at worst and here is why:

Your Mortuary Benefit is basically as follows:

If you pass away while a member of Sheriffs’ Relief your designated beneficiary may receive up to $8,000.  If your spouse or dependent passes away before you, you could receive up to $4,000.    The bottom line is that there is no way if you continued your membership you would pay more monthly dues than you would receive from either of these mortuary benefits.   Do the math yourself.  Your new monthly dues are $9.00 per month.  Weigh this against your mortuary benefits to determine how many months you would have to live to pay in more in dues than you would receive from this benefit.   

In almost every case members who do not renew their membership with SRA upon retirement have not made a conscious decision to do so.   Please be aware of this and do not let this renewal process fall through the cracks.  Make sure we have your current email and/or address on file and remember the advantages of and the process for renewing your membership.