It is never too early or too late to begin Financial Planning! The County Employees Retirement Law of 1937 directs LACERA to administer defined retirement plan benefits for the employees of Los Angeles County and outside Districts. The County also offers a 457(b) Horizons Plan and 401(k) Savings Plan as a supplement to other retirement/pension benefits that employees may have. In addition, there are many other ways to save and invest money for retirement … tax deferred! The Los Angeles County Management Council’s seminar, “Planning for Tomorrow – Your Ticket to a Secure Retirement,” will virtually bring you the experts in legal and financial retirement planning. This seminar is loaded with excellent speakers and information to help you make informed decisions that will have a lasting impact on your retirement plans and retirement years.

Participants will:

• Build the skills needed to assess their assets and liabilities and to start your estate planning.
• Receive expert advice from the Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association (LACERA) on what to expect in your pre- and post-retirement planning, including health benefits.
• Learn how to best utilize other County retirement/pension benefits through the 457(b) Horizons Plan, 401(k) Savings Plan and Life Insurance Plan.

Speakers:

Victoria Rayman, Attorney at Law - Estate Planning

Copenbarger & Copenbarger, LLP

Victoria co-leads the Estate Planning and Medi-Cal Departments.  She works with clients in each office focusing on San Jose, Santa Cruz, and Sacramento areas. Victoria received her bachelor’s degree from University of the Pacific and her law degree from Santa Clara University.

In her free time, Victoria enjoys spending time with her husband, their first baby, and their animals.  Victoria loves giving back where she can, with special attention to children, young families with limited resources, and animals.  She also enjoys gardening, golfing, and traveling whenever possible.

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Brian Bozajian & Peter Lizotte, Financial Advisors

MetLife Group Variable Life Insurance

Brian Bozajian & Peter Lizotte are recognized as industry leaders in executive benefit programs and have been advisors to the County of Los Angeles for close to twenty-years.  They each maintain life insurance and securities licenses with active appointments with over forty insurance companies.   Collectively they are broker of record for the largest professional legal and accounting firms in the world.   Their specialized knowledge of the life insurance product known as Group Variable Universal Life – which combines unique tax advantaged asset accumulation with low-cost life insurance coverage, is the foundation of their successful practice.

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Edwin Tom, Retirement Benefits Specialist

LACERA

Edwin Tom has been working as a LACERA Retirement Benefits Specialist with the Member Services Outreach Team for over 8 years.  His role here at LACERA is to educate our members on LACERA benefits through one on one counseling sessions, presenting to large groups through in person and online webinar presentations, and representing LACERA at Los Angeles County Employee Benefit events.  Prior to his career at LACERA, Edwin Tom graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from UCLA. He worked in the financial services industry as a Registered Investment Advisor and Brokerage Manager with several major stock brokerage firms for close to two decades.  In his roles at these financial services firms and LACERA, supplying excellent customer service and retirement education to individuals has always been his primary focus.  In his personal life, Edwin Tom volunteers for youth sports as a coach/referee, as well as at the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank and at local PTA events. He also previously served as a Regional Board Member for the American Youth Soccer Organization.

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Ottilia “Tilly” Makgatho, Retirement Plan Counselor

Empower Retirement

Tilly Makgatho is a Retirement Plan Counselor for Empower. In her role, she helps members of the County of Los Angeles 457(b) Horizons Deferred Compensation Plan as well as the 401(k) Savings Plan understand their benefits and assists them with retirement readiness education. Tilly originally joined Empower in 2019. Tilly currently maintains FINRA Series 6 registration and Series 63 state securities licenses.

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Victoria Pipkin Lane, Board Member

Retired Employees of Los Angeles County (RELAC)

Victoria Pipkin-Lane serves on the Board of Directors for the Retired Employees of Los Angeles County or RELAC. She is also a former County employee, who retired in 2018 after more than 28 years of public service.

Victoria’s career in government spans three levels of government: with the City of Los Angeles-Mayor’s Office, the State Department of Justice-Attorney General’s Office and the County of Los Angeles Board of Supervisors. _______________________________________

Seminar Information

Date: Thursday, January 22, 2026

Time: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Location: Online Only via Teams

Seminar Questions:

Rhonda Aven-Haggenmiller at RAven-Haggenmiller@ceo.lacounty.gov or Olga Svitlynets at OSvitlynets@ceo.lacounty.gov.

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Registration Information 

Cost: Free

Once registered, a direct link to the seminar will be emailed to you.

Reminder: ONLY LACMC MEMBERS MAY REGISTER FOR THIS TRAINING.

NEW: Members who register by 12/31/23 will receive a personalized statement in the mail from MetLife, which will make it easier to follow part of their presentation as they are explaining your benefits and services they provide.

To find out about other LACMC educational opportunities and more, check out our website at https://managementcouncil.lacounty.gov//.   If you have a colleague interested in becoming a LACMC member, please refer them to the LACMC website for eligibility requirements, membership benefits, and the application (click here).