To set up electronic payments for your CalPERS retirement benefit, complete the CalPERS Direct Deposit Authorization form, numbered 1288, and mail it to the address printed on the form. You can download it from calpers.ca.gov, or skip the paper entirely and make the same change inside myCalPERS under the Retirement tab. Either way, you’re linking a U.S. checking or savings account to your monthly benefit so the money arrives electronically instead of as a mailed check.1CalPERS. Direct Deposit
What to Have Ready Before You Start
Gather everything in one place so you’re not hunting for numbers halfway through. You’ll need:
- Your full legal name, Social Security number or CalPERS ID, current mailing address, and a phone number where CalPERS can reach you.
- Your financial institution’s name, whether the account is checking or savings, the nine-digit routing transit number, and your account number.
The routing and account numbers appear along the bottom of a personal check. If you’re depositing to a savings account or don’t have checks on hand, call your bank or pull the numbers from your online banking dashboard. Wrong numbers are the single most common reason forms come back, so verify them against a bank statement before writing anything down.
Filling Out Form 1288
One important detail up front: you need a separate 1288 for each type of retirement benefit you receive. If you draw more than one benefit from CalPERS, complete one form per benefit.
If you’re working from a printed copy, use block capital letters and keep your writing inside the boxes. Fill every field, then sign and date the form. Your signature does two things: it authorizes CalPERS to deposit funds into the account you listed, and it authorizes CalPERS to reverse any payment sent in error.
Where to Send It and What Happens Next
Mail the completed form to the address printed on 1288. If something is missing or unclear, CalPERS returns the form within about two weeks with a letter explaining what needs fixing.2CalPERS. How Do I Sign Up for Direct Deposit When everything is in order, CalPERS sends a confirmation letter stating the effective date of your first electronic deposit.1CalPERS. Direct Deposit
While your request is processing, CalPERS keeps paying you the way it already was, whether that’s a paper check or a deposit to your prior account. Your income doesn’t pause during the switch.
The Faster Alternative: myCalPERS
If you have online access, the portal is quicker than the paper form. Log in at my.calpers.ca.gov, open the Retirement tab, and choose Payment Options.1CalPERS. Direct Deposit Have the same routing and account numbers ready. You’ll get an immediate on-screen confirmation that CalPERS received your request. The online path works for first-time enrollment and for switching accounts later.
Changing Banks or Canceling
To switch banks or update an account number, use the same two options: update Payment Options in myCalPERS, or submit a new paper 1288.1CalPERS. Direct Deposit Do not close the old account until the confirmation letter arrives and tells you the exact date the first deposit will land in the new one. If the old account is closed too soon, the payment bounces back to CalPERS and you wait for it to be reissued.
If You Live Outside the United States
Electronic deposit is only available to accounts within U.S. territorial jurisdiction. For this purpose, that covers all 50 states, U.S. territories, U.S. military bases abroad, and U.S. embassies.1CalPERS. Direct Deposit If your benefit is being sent to a foreign bank outside that jurisdiction, CalPERS must stop the electronic transfer under NACHA rules and pay you by mailed check instead. Retirees who keep a U.S. bank account can continue direct deposit while living overseas and move the funds internationally themselves.
Someone Else Handling It for You
If a retiree can’t manage their own CalPERS business, another person can make direct deposit changes for them, but only through a CalPERS Special Power of Attorney. This is a separate CalPERS form, not a general POA. The retiree must sign and date it, and the signature has to be acknowledged either by a notary public or by two witnesses who are at least 18 and are not the person being designated as attorney-in-fact.3CalPERS. Special Power of Attorney
Send the completed Special Power of Attorney to CalPERS Benefit Services Division, P.O. Box 942716, Sacramento, CA 94229-2716, or drop it at a regional office. A confirmation letter follows. One limit to know: institutional representatives, such as law firms and professional fiduciaries, cannot create a myCalPERS account even with authority in hand, so those representatives handle every change by paper form or phone.3CalPERS. Special Power of Attorney
Tax Withholding Does Not Change With Your Deposit
Form 1288 only tells CalPERS where to send the money. It does not change how much federal or state tax is withheld from your benefit. Those elections live on a different form. To adjust withholding, log in to myCalPERS and choose Tax Withholdings from the Home tab, or file the Tax Withholding Election form from the CalPERS website.4CalPERS. 8 Questions About Your Retirement Check It’s easy to assume a banking change updates the whole payment picture; only the destination actually moves.