AB 1054: Public employees’ retirement: deferred retirement option program: public employee health benefits.

Existing law, the County Employees Retirement Law of 1937, prescribes retirement benefits for members of specified county and district retirement systems. Existing law establishes the Deferred Retirement Option Program as an optional benefit program for specified safety members of those systems that, by ordinance or resolution by the county board of supervisors or the governing body, elect to adopt it. The program provides eligible members access, upon service retirement, to a lump sum or, in some cases, monthly payments in addition to a monthly retirement allowance, as specified.

Existing law, the Public Employees Retirement Law (PERL), creates the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) for the purpose of providing pension benefits to state employees and employees of contracting agencies and prescribes the rights and duties of members of the system and their beneficiaries. Existing law vests management and control of PERS in its board of administration. PERS provides a defined benefit to members of the program, based on final compensation, credited service, and age at retirement, subject to certain variations.

This bill would establish the Deferred Retirement Option Program as a voluntary program within PERS for employees of State Bargaining Units 5 (Highway Patrol) and 8 (Firefighters), and certain supervisory or managerial employees of the Department of the California Highway Patrol or the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The bill would require certain actions to occur, including completion of an actuarial analysis to determine the proposed program will be cost neutral, before the program becomes effective and applicable. The bill would require members who elect to participate in the program to meet certain requirements, including waiving any claims with respect to age and other discrimination in employment laws relative to the program. The bill would establish a program account for each participant and would require the Board of Administration of the Public Employees Retirement System to, among other things and at least once annually, provide a statement to the participant that displays the value or balance of the participants program account. The bill would require PERS to commence paying the member their monthly retirement allowance as of the first day of the month following the deferred retirement date. The bill would authorize the participant to designate a person or persons as beneficiaries of the participants program account at any time during the program period from their election date to the deferred retirement calculation date. Beginning on July 1 of the fiscal year the program is implemented, and every 5 years thereafter, the bill would require the Board of Administration of the Public Employees Retirement System to submit a report of an actuarial analysis to specified entities. The bill would entitle participants who entered the program prior to the effective date of any modifications by the Legislature to elect whether to become subject to those modified provisions or to remain subject to the program as it existed on the participants election date. The bill would specify that the Legislature reserves the right to suspend the program through legislative action ratified by the Governor under certain circumstances. If the Legislature and the Governor approve the programs suspension, the bill would terminate all participants benefit accrual and would prohibit any participant, eligible spouse, or beneficiary from having any vested right to any prospective program benefit, as specified. The bill would require the members spouse, as applicable, to execute a signed statement acknowledging the spouses understanding of, and agreement with, the members election to participate in the program together with an express statement of the spouses understanding and agreement that benefits payable to the spouse may be reduced as a result of participation in the program.

Existing law requires the board of administration of 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 to 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. Existing law defines an 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.

This bill would expand the definition of annuitant, thereby permitting a person, or a surviving family member of that person, as specified, whose deferred retirement date is within 120 days of separation from the Deferred Retirement Option Program and who receives a retirement allowance under any state retirement system to which the state was a contributing party to enroll in a health benefit plan under PEMHCA.