Changing Membership Category

If your job changes from a Miscellaneous classification to a Safety classification—or the other way around—SCERS tracks that change and calculates your future retirement benefit accordingly.

This section explains how these transitions affect your membership record and eventual benefit. 

Membership Categories Recap

• Miscellaneous Members: Most SCERS-covered employees fall into this category. It includes administrative, professional, technical, and support roles. 
• Safety Members: Includes sworn law enforcement officers, firefighters, and other designated safety roles. These positions typically have different benefit formulas and earlier retirement eligibility.

What Happens When You Change Categories

If you move from one membership category to another:

• SCERS will separate your service into distinct plans—one for each category
• Your retirement benefit will be calculated independently for each plan using the appropriate formula
• Your contribution rate may increase or decrease based on your new plan 
• At retirement, both plans will be added together to produce your total monthly benefit 

You do not lose service credit when you change categories. Each type of service is preserved and applied using the correct calculation.

What You Should Do

If your classification changes:

• Confirm with your HR department whether your new position is designated as Safety or Miscellaneous 
• Notify SCERS so your record reflects the change