Amended in Senate June 4, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 410


Introduced by Assembly Member Jones-Sawyer

February 15, 2013


An act tobegin insert amend Section 22760 of, and toend insert add Section 22838 tobegin insert,end insert the Government Code, relating to public employee benefits.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 410, as amended, Jones-Sawyer. Public employee health benefits: enrollment.

Existing law requires the Board of Administration of the Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS) to administer the Public Employees’ Medical and Hospital Care Act (PEMHCA). PEMHCA further grants the board the power to approve health benefit plans and contract with carriers offering health benefit plans. Under PEMHCA, an employee or annuitant may enroll in a health benefit plan approved or maintained by the board either as an individual or for self and family.begin insert Existing law defines annuitant for purposes of receiving postretirement health benefits pursuant to PEMHCA and generally requires that a person retire within 120 days of separation from public employment, with specified exceptions.end insert

begin delete

Existing law provides that an employee who does not retire within 120 days of his or her separation from public employment, loses his or her eligibility for postemployment health care benefits under PEMHCA.

end delete

This bill would permit an annuitant who reinstates from retirement under PERS for employment by the state or a contracting agency and who subsequently retires again on or after January 1, 2014, to enroll in a health benefit plan under PEMHCAbegin insert for which he or she is eligible, as specified,end insert as an annuitant of the employer from which he or she first retired, upon meetingbegin delete specified conditions, includingend deletebegin insert certain conditions. In this regard, the bill would requireend insert that the person’s subsequent retirementbegin delete occursend deletebegin insert occurend insert within 120 days after separation of employmentbegin delete or the person is subject to disability retirement, as specified, the person had at least 5 years of credited service for the employer from which he or she first retired or qualifies for a contribution payable by an employer under disability retirement,end deletebegin insert, as specified,end insert and that the personbegin delete isend delete notbegin insert beend insert eligible for a postretirement health benefit contribution from the employer from which he or she subsequently retiresbegin insert or that the postretirement health benefit contribution payable by that employer be less than the contribution payable by that employer during his or her prior retirementend insert.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P2    1begin insert

begin insertSECTION 1.end insert  

end insert

begin insertSection 22760 of the end insertbegin insertGovernment Codeend insertbegin insert is
2amended to read:end insert

3

22760.  

“Annuitant” means:

4(a) A person, other than a National Guard member defined in
5Section 20380.5, who has retired within 120 days of separation
6from employment and who receives a retirement allowance under
7any state or University of California retirement system to which
8the state was a contributing party.

9(b) A surviving family member receiving an allowance in place
10of an annuitant who has retired as provided in subdivision (a), or
11as the survivor of a deceased employee under Section 21541,
1221546, 21547, or 21547.7, or similar provisions of any other state
13retirement system.

14(c) A person who has retired within 120 days of separation from
15employment with a contracting agency as defined in Section 22768
16begin insert or, if applicable, consistent with the provisions of subdivision (b)
17of Section 22893,end insert
and who receives a retirement allowance from
18the retirement system provided bybegin delete theend deletebegin insert thatend insert employer, or a surviving
19family member who receives the retirement allowance in place of
20the deceased.

21(d) A judge who receives the benefits provided by subdivision
22(e) of Section 75522.

P3    1(e) A person who was a state member for 30 years or more and
2who, at the time of retirement, was a local member employed by
3a contracting agency.

4(f) A Member of the Legislature or an elective officer of the
5state whose office is provided by the California Constitution, who
6has at least eight years of credited service, and who meets the
7following conditions:

8(1) Permanently separates from state service on or after January
91, 1988, and not more than 10 years before or 10 years after his
10or her minimum age for service retirement, or is an inactive
11member of the Legislators’ Retirement System pursuant to Section
129355.2.

13(2) Receives a retirement allowance under a state retirement
14system supported in whole or in part by state funds other than the
15University of California Retirement System.

16(g) An exempt employee who meets all of the following
17conditions:

18(1) Has at least 10 years of credited state service that includes
19at least two years of credited service while an exempt employee.

20(2) Permanently separates from state service on or after January
211, 1988, and not more than 10 years before or 10 years after his
22or her minimum age for service retirement.

23(3) Receives a retirement allowance under a state retirement
24system supported in whole or in part by state funds other than the
25University of California Retirement System.

26(h) A person receiving a survivor allowance pursuant to Article
273 (commencing with Section 21570) of Chapter 14 of Part 3
28provided that he or she was eligible to enroll in a health benefit
29plan on the date of the member’s death, on whose account the
30survivor allowance is payable.

31(i) (1) A family member of a deceased retired member of the
32State Teachers’ Retirement Plan, if the deceased member meets
33the following conditions:

34(A) Retired within 120 days of separation from employment.

35(B) Retired before the member’s school employer elected to
36contract for health benefit coverage under this part.

37(C) Prior to his or her death, received a retirement allowance
38that did not provide for a survivor allowance to family members.

39(2) The family member shall elect coverage as an annuitant
40within one calendar year from the date that the deceased member’s
P4    1school employer elected to contract for health benefit coverage
2under this part.

3

begin deleteSECTION 1.end delete
4begin insertSEC. 2.end insert  

Section 22838 is added to the Government Code, to
5read:

6

22838.  

(a) An annuitant who reinstates from retirement
7pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 21190) of Chapter
812 of Part 3 may, upon his or her subsequent retirement,begin insert elect toend insert
9 enroll in a health benefit plan approved or maintained by the board
10as an annuitant of the employer from which he or shebegin delete first retiredend delete
11begin insert wasend insertbegin insert eligible to receive a postretirement health benefit contribution
12payable by that employer during his or her prior retirement,end insert
ifbegin delete allend delete
13begin insert both end insert of the following apply:

14(1) The subsequent retirement of that person occurs within 120
15days after separation from employment or, if applicable,begin delete by the
16date provided inend delete
begin insert consistent with the provisions ofend insert subdivision (b)
17of Section 22893.

begin delete

18(2) That person had at least five years of credited service for
19the employer from which he or she first retired or qualifies for a
20contribution payable by an employer as described in subdivision
21(b) of Section 22893.

22(3)

end delete

23begin insert(2)end insert That person is not eligible for a postretirement health benefit
24contribution from the employer from which he or she subsequently
25retires or the postretirement health benefit contribution payable
26by that employer is less than the contribution payable bybegin delete the
27employer from which the annuitant first retiredend delete
begin insert that employer
28during his or her prior retirementend insert
.

29(b) The postretirement health benefit contribution payable by
30an employer under this section shall be in lieu of a contribution
31payable to the annuitant by any other employer under this part.

32(c)  begin deleteIf an annuitant enrolls as an annuitant of the employer from
33which he or she first retired as described in subdivision (a), the
34credited service of that annuitant for end delete
begin insertFor end insertpurposes of calculating
35the employer postretirement health benefit contributionbegin insert, the
36credited service of a person who enrolls as an annuitant pursuant
37to this sectionend insert
shall not includebegin delete years ofend delete servicebegin insert performedend insert for any
38begin insert otherend insert employerbegin delete afterend deletebegin insert during his or herend insert reinstatement from
39retirementbegin delete unless that employer is the same employer from which
40the annuitant first retiredend delete
.

P5    1(d) This section shall apply irrespective of whether the person
2begin delete is enrolled as an employeeend deletebegin insert receives health care coverage under
3this partend insert
during his or her reinstatement from retirement.

4(e) An annuitant who is eligible to enroll pursuant to this section
5may enroll within 60 days after his or her subsequent retirement
6or during a future open enrollment period, as provided by
7regulation of the board, without discrimination as to premium rates
8or benefits coverage.

9(f) This section shall only apply to an annuitant who, after
10reinstatement, subsequently retires on or after January 1, 2014.



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