BILL NUMBER: AB 2472 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 7, 2014
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 11, 2014
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 16, 2014
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 23, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 27, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Committee on Public Employees, Retirement and Social
Security (Bonta (Chair), Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, and Wieckowski)
FEBRUARY 21, 2014
An act to amend Sections 20340, 20533, 21074, 21075, 21453, 21499,
75070, 75079, 75552, and 75570 of, to add Section 75580.5 to, and to
repeal Sections 20237 and 22849 of, the Government Code, relating to
public employee benefits.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2472, Committee on Public Employees, Retirement and Social
Security. Public employees: retirement and health benefits.
(1) The Public Employees' Retirement Law (PERL) creates the Public
Employees' Retirement System (PERS), which provides a defined
benefit to its members based on age at retirement, service credit,
and final compensation. Existing law vests the management and control
of the PERS in the Board of Administration of the PERS. Existing law
requires the board, in addition to any other reports it is required
to make, to annually file a separate report with the Governor and the
Legislature on all matters under its jurisdiction.
This bill would repeal that requirement and make other conforming
changes.
(2) PERL specifies that a person ceases to be a member of PERS if
the person has less than 5 years of service credit and no accumulated
contributions in the retirement fund at the time of termination of
service, as specified.
This bill would provide that a member who is subject to specified
provisions also ceases to be a member of PERS if the person has less
than 10 years of service credit and no accumulated contributions in
the retirement fund at the time of termination of service, and would
make related conforming changes.
(3) PERL prescribes different benefit formulas referred to as
First Tier and Second Tier. Existing law provides that a state member
who elected a calculation of a service retirement allowance based
upon a specified computation of First Tier and Second Tier service
shall be retired for service upon written application to the board if
he or she has attained 50 years of age and is credited with 5 years
of state service.
This bill would specify that this provision applies to a state
member, as described above, who is subject to a certain benefit
formula available to Second Tier members who became members of the
system before January 1, 2013.
(4) PERL provides that if a correction of the amount of
compensation received by a member that is reported to the system
requires additional employer contributions to be paid to the system,
the contributions shall be computed using the employer rate in effect
at the time of the adjustment.
This bill would instead provide that the employer contribution
shall be computed using the employer contribution rate in effect at
the time that the compensation requiring adjustment was earned.
(5) PERL requires that an election, revocation, or change of
retirement benefits be made prior to the making of the first payment
on account of any retirement allowance, or any retirement allowance
following a change in retirement status.
This bill would allow an election, revocation, or change of
election to be made within 30 calendar days after the making of the
first payment.
(6) PERL requires the board to conduct a study to examine the
feasibility and cost-effectiveness of creating a single statewide
health care pool that would cover all public school employees.
This bill would repeal that requirement.
(7) Existing law establishes the Judges' Retirement System II
which provides retirement benefits to elected judges. Existing law
authorizes a judge to elect, revoke, or change a previous election of
benefits in a writing filed with the system prior to the making of
the first payment on account of the retirement allowance.
This bill would require those authorized elections, revocations,
and changes to be made within 30 calendar days after the making of
the first payment.
(8) Existing law provides that if a retired judge becomes
entitled to any salary for assignment to a court by the Chairperson
of the Judicial Council after retirement for disability, the
retirement allowance otherwise payable pursuant to the Judges'
Retirement System II Law shall, during the time he or she is entitled
to receive that salary or other compensation, be reduced by the
amount of that salary or compensation.
This bill would require, except as provided, a person who is
retired for service or disability under the system to reinstate from
retirement and again become a member of the system if he or she is
appointed or elected to serve as a judge.
(9) The bill would make other conforming, and technical,
nonsubstantive changes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 20237 of the Government Code is repealed.
SEC. 2. Section 20340 of the Government Code is amended to read:
20340. A person ceases to be a member:
(a) Upon retirement, except while participating in reduced
worktime for partial service retirement.
(b) If he or she is paid his or her normal contributions, unless
payment of contributions is the result of an election pursuant to
paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 21070, or unless, after
reducing the member's credited service by the service applicable to
the contributions being withdrawn, the member meets the requirements
of Section 21075 or if he or she is paid a portion of his or her
normal contributions where more than one payment is made, or these
contributions are held pursuant to Section 21500. For the purposes of
this subdivision, deposit in the United States mail of a warrant
drawn in favor of a member, addressed to the latest address of the
member on file in the office of this system, electronic fund transfer
to the person's bank, savings and loan association, or credit union
account, constitutes payment to the person of the amount for which
the warrant is drawn or electronically transferred.
(c) If the member has less than five years of service credit, or
less than 10 years of service credit if the member is subject to
Section 21076 or 21076.5, and no accumulated contributions in the
retirement fund at the time of termination of service, unless the
member establishes membership in the Judges' Retirement System, the
Judges' Retirement System II, the Legislators' Retirement System, the
State Teachers' Retirement System, or the University of California
Retirement Plan, or establishes reciprocity with a reciprocal
retirement system.
SEC. 3. Section 20533 of the Government Code is amended to read:
20533. The employer contribution rate adopted under this part, or
because of amendments to the contract or to this part, apply to all
compensation upon the basis of which member's contributions are
deducted after those employer contribution rates became or become
effective.
If correction of the amount of compensation reported is required,
the employer contributions shall be computed using the employer
contribution rate in effect at the time that the compensation
requiring adjustment was earned.
SEC. 4. Section 21074 of the Government Code is amended to read:
21074. (a) A state member who became subject to the Second Tier
shall be retired for service upon his or her written application to
the board if he or she has attained age 55 and is credited with 10
years of state service.
(b) A state member who elected coverage under Section 21077, shall
be retired for service upon his or her written application to the
board if he or she has attained 50 years of age if subject to Section
21076 and is credited with five years of state service. No benefit
shall be payable for service rendered under the Second Tier
retirement formula unless the member has rendered 10 years of state
service except as provided in subdivision (c).
(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) or (b), a state member in the
Second Tier who is credited with five years of state service prior to
January 1, 1985, may retire with less than 10 years of state service
upon his or her written application to the board if he or she has
attained age 50.
SEC. 5. Section 21075 of the Government Code is amended to read:
21075. Notwithstanding Section 20340, a person who is subject to
Section 21076, 21076.5, or Section 21077 ceases to be a member if he
or she has less than 10 years of service credit and no accumulated
contributions in the retirement fund at the time of termination of
service, except a member who had five years of credited service prior
to January 1, 1985.
SEC. 6. Section 21453 of the Government Code is amended to read:
21453. An election, revocation, or change of election shall be
made within 30 calendar days after the making of the first payment on
account of any retirement allowance or, in the event of a change of
retirement status after retirement, within 30 calendar days after the
making of the first payment on account of any retirement allowance
following the change in retirement status. "Change in retirement
status" includes, but is not limited to, change from service to
disability retirement, from disability retirement to service
retirement, from nonindustrial disability retirement to industrial
disability retirement, or from industrial to nonindustrial disability
retirement.
For purposes of this section, payment shall be deemed to have been
made on the date a warrant is mailed, or the date funds are
electronically transferred to a bank, savings and loan association,
or credit union account for deposit in the member's account.
This section shall not be construed to authorize a member to
change his or her retirement status after the election, revocation,
or change of election provided in this section.
SEC. 7. Section 21499 of the Government Code is amended to read:
21499. (a) Notwithstanding Section 21498, when either an initial
payment of a preretirement or postretirement death allowance or a
preretirement or postretirement lump-sum benefit is payable in an
amount of ten dollars ($10) or more, it shall be authorized to the
Controller within 45 days of receipt by this system of all the
necessary information, including the return of warrants issued or any
overpayment outstanding after the date of the death of the
annuitant.
(b) If any payment is not made within that time limitation, the
payment shall also include interest at the greater of the interest
crediting rate specified in Section 20178 or the net earnings rate
(including capital gains and losses) in effect at the time the
payment is made, for time following the expiration of that time
limitation.
SEC. 8. Section 22849 of the Government Code is repealed.
SEC. 9. Section 75070 of the Government Code is amended to read:
75070. In lieu of the retirement allowance for his or her life
alone, a judge may elect, or revoke or change a previous election
prior to the approval of the previous election, to have the actuarial
equivalent of his retirement allowance as of the date of retirement
applied to a lesser retirement allowance, in accordance with one of
the optional settlements specified in Section 75071.
That election, revocation, or change of election shall be made by
a writing filed with the Judges' Retirement System within 30 calendar
days after the making of the first payment on account of any
retirement allowance.
SEC. 10. Section 75079 of the Government Code is amended to read:
75079. (a) When a judge elects and becomes entitled to receive
the benefits accorded by this article, he or she does not have the
right to select an optional settlement under the provisions of
Article 3.5 (commencing with Section 75070) of this chapter.
(b) When a judge becomes entitled on and after January 1, 1987, to
receive the benefits accorded by this article, the judge may instead
elect an actuarially reduced retirement allowance payable for life
and if the judge dies before he or she receives the amount of his or
her accumulated contributions at retirement, the remaining unpaid
amount of his or her accumulated contributions shall be paid to his
or her designated beneficiary, if he or she has so designated, and if
none, to his or her estate.
The election shall be made in writing and filed with the Judges'
Retirement System within 30 calendar days after the making of the
first payment on account of any retirement allowance.
(c) The surviving spouse of a judge who qualifies, as prescribed
in Section 75075, to receive the benefits accorded by Section 75076
but who elected to receive the actuarially reduced retirement
allowance as provided in subdivision (b) and who dies during
retirement shall receive, until death, an allowance equal to one-half
of the retirement allowance that would have been payable to the
judge if he or she were living and had elected to receive the
benefits accorded by Section 75076.
SEC. 11. Section 75552 of the Government Code is amended to read:
75552. (a) After payment of a portion of the member's
contributions to a nonmember pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section
75551, the member may redeposit the full amount in the fund at any
time before he or she retires or otherwise leaves judicial office.
The redeposit shall include interest at the rate of interest then
being required to be paid by members of the Public Employees'
Retirement System under Section 20750 from the date of payment to the
date of redeposit. A partial redeposit shall not be accepted.
(b) After payment of a portion of the member's monetary credits to
a nonmember pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 75551, the member
may redeposit the full amount in the fund at any time before he or
she retires or otherwise leaves judicial office. The redeposit shall
include interest at the greater of: (1) the rate of interest then
being required to be paid by members of the Public Employees'
Retirement System under Section 20750 from the date of payment to the
date of redeposit; or (2) the compounded amounts that would have
been credited to the member's monetary account pursuant to
subdivision (b) of Section 75520 had the payment not been made to the
nonmember. A partial redeposit shall not be accepted.
SEC. 12. Section 75570 of the Government Code is amended to read:
75570. (a) In lieu of the retirement allowance under subdivision
(d) of Section 75522 for his or her life alone, a judge who elects to
retire with a monthly allowance under subdivision (d) of Section
75522 may elect, or revoke or change a previous election prior to the
approval of the previous election, to have the actuarial equivalent
of his or her retirement allowance as of the date of retirement
applied to a lesser retirement allowance, in accordance with one of
the optional settlements specified in Section 75571.
(b) That election, revocation, or change of election shall be made
by a writing filed with the system within 30 calendar days after the
making of the first payment on account of any retirement allowance.
SEC. 13. Section 75580.5 is added to the Government Code, to read:
75580.5. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), if a person
who is retired for service or disability under this system is
appointed or elected to serve as a judge, he or she shall reinstate
from retirement and again become a member of the system pursuant to
this chapter.
(b) This section shall not apply to a retired judge who is
assigned to serve in a court pursuant to Section 68543.5, and he or
she shall not earn service credit or be entitled to retirement
benefits under this part for that service.