All Roll Calls
Yes: 180 • No: 1
CaliforniaSB 8532025-2026 Regular SessionSenateWALLET
Public employeesâ retirement.
Sponsored By: Sponsor information unavailable
Signed by Governor
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
11 provisions identified: 5 benefits, 1 costs, 5 mixed.
Bigger pension from concurrent retirements
If you retire at the same time from this system and a university, county, judges’, legislators’, or the teachers’ system, your final pay can use the highest average pay from either system. The law uses the highest annual average pay over any 12- or 36-month period of that service. A disabled STRS member who retires here on the same date is treated as retiring at the same time. For the county rule, you must have entered the later job on or after 1957-10-01 and within 90 days of leaving the other job, retire concurrently, and have county service credited at retirement.
Stricter rules for rehired retirees
A retired member cannot work for a county or district unless reinstated or a statute allows work without reinstatement. A retiree who works in violation must repay retirement checks for that period. If reinstated, the retiree and employer must also pay the missed contributions with interest, and the employer may owe administrative costs if at fault. If an employer fails to report a retiree hired without reinstatement within 30 days, the board may charge $200 per retiree per month until it is reported. Employers cannot pass these fees to the employee and must give a written notice before the employee is within 10 business days or 80 hours of the limits.
Stronger state funding for teachers’ pensions
The state makes ongoing payments to the teachers’ retirement fund. It sends 2.5% of last year’s total creditable pay to the supplemental benefit account each year, on Oct 15 and Apr 15. It also pays a base 2.017% of last year’s pay and adds scheduled increases (1.437% on 2014-07-01, 2.874% on 2015-07-01, and 4.311% on 2016-07-01). After 2017, the board adjusts the rate by up to 0.50 percentage point a year to pay down remaining debt, until no debt remains. Starting 2024-07-01, when system errors cause overpayments, 85% is covered by the General Fund and 15% is billed to reporting employers, with interest and collection through school fund offsets if unpaid.
Keep your pension in local mergers
When certain local agencies combine or split, many existing workers can keep the pension formula they had before. This includes a Brea–Fullerton joint authority formed on or after 2013-01-01 (nearby Orange County cities could join by 2017-01-01, up to three), a joint authority of Belmont, Estero, and San Mateo formed after 2013-01-01, a county and trial court that separate contracts on or after 2024-01-01, and the Pajaro Regional Flood Management Agency choosing by 2026-04-01 a member agency plan as it existed on 2012-12-31. These options apply only if you are not a new member and you start with the new agency within 180 days of the change.
Safety upgrade for prosecutors and defenders
Local prosecutors, public defenders, and their investigators can have past service converted to safety service if the job was reclassified as safety before 2013-01-01. The rule takes effect in a county only if the board of supervisors approves it. Eligible workers have 90 days to opt out after the rule starts locally or after they start the job.
Work part time, earn full credit
You and your school or community college employer can agree in writing to reduce your workload. You still earn service credit and have your pension calculated as if you worked full time. You must be at least 55, have 10 years of service, and have worked full time for the prior five years. The reduced work must be at least half time and can last up to 10 school years. You and your employer pay contributions based on the full-time salary.
County service and final pay rules
For county members covered by the 2013 reform, final pay for absences uses the job’s pay at the start of the absence. If you have less than three years of service, final pay equals your total pensionable pay divided by months of service, times 12. The law also expands what counts as state service for pensions, including some county work when that pay is pensionable, and certain California National Guard service for limited purposes.
Pension reform coverage and exceptions
State pension reform rules apply to all state and local public retirement systems starting 2013-01-01, and systems must update their plans to comply. The rules must follow federal tax law and the state Constitution. Public employees protected by federal transit law (49 U.S.C. 5333(b)) are exempt until a federal court says otherwise or until 2016-01-01; if the court upholds the federal finding, the rules do not apply to those workers.
Some employers keep pre-2013 plans
Employers that offered a lower-cost pension formula or only a defined contribution plan before 2013-01-01 may keep offering those designs. Any new pension formula adopted after that date must follow the reform rules or be certified as no more costly and approved by the Legislature. New members may only join the pre-2013 lower-cost formula, the pre-2013 DC plan, or a conforming approved plan.
Judges keep existing pension formulas
The judges’ retirement systems do not have to follow certain state pension formulas or pay limits. Judges in those systems keep their existing calculation rules.
New rules for school pay and employers
The law clarifies who counts as an employer and a member and how schools report pay. The retirement board has the final say on who is an employer and who is a member. A joint powers authority must include only covered employers and report through one county office of education. For school jobs, an annualized pay rate is the full-time term salary or the hourly/daily rate times full-time hours or days; if none exists, the pay is treated as supplemental. The board posts the start date for this pay rule by 2027-07-01. For part-time benefit rules, an employer is a school district, community college district, or county office of education that elects those benefits; the state is excluded.
Sponsors & Cosponsors
Sponsors
There is no primary sponsor on record.
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
Senate vote • 9/11/2025
Item 178 — Senate SFLOOR
Yes: 40 • No: 0
House vote • 9/2/2025
Item 216 — Assembly AFLOOR
Yes: 77 • No: 1
legislature vote • 7/2/2025
Vote in CX25
Yes: 14 • No: 0
legislature vote • 6/25/2025
Vote in CX17
Yes: 7 • No: 0
Senate vote • 5/1/2025
Item 143 — Senate SFLOOR
Yes: 37 • No: 0
legislature vote • 4/9/2025
Vote in CS56
Yes: 5 • No: 0
Actions Timeline
Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 239, Statutes of 2025.
10/1/2025SenateApproved by the Governor.
10/1/2025legislatureEnrolled and presented to the Governor at 2 p.m.
9/22/2025legislatureAssembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 40. Noes 0. Page 2928.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.
9/11/2025SenateOrdered to special consent calendar.
9/9/2025SenateIn Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.
9/3/2025SenateRead third time. Passed. (Ayes 77. Noes 1. Page 2816.) Ordered to the Senate.
9/2/2025HouseOrdered to third reading.
7/15/2025HouseRead third time and amended.
7/15/2025HouseOrdered to third reading.
7/7/2025HouseFrom consent calendar on motion of Assembly Member Garcia.
7/7/2025HouseRead second time. Ordered to consent calendar.
7/3/2025HouseFrom committee: Do pass. Ordered to consent calendar. (Ayes 14. Noes 0.) (July 2).
7/2/2025HouseFrom committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 25). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
6/25/2025HouseReferred to Com. on P. E. & R.
5/19/2025HouseIn Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.
5/1/2025HouseRead third time. Passed. (Ayes 37. Noes 0. Page 984.) Ordered to the Assembly.
5/1/2025SenateRead second time. Ordered to consent calendar.
4/29/2025SenateFrom committee: Be ordered to second reading pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8 and ordered to consent calendar.
4/28/2025SenateFrom committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
4/21/2025SenateSet for hearing April 28.
4/17/2025SenateRe-referred to Com. on APPR.
4/10/2025SenateWithdrawn from committee.
4/10/2025SenateRead second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on JUD.
4/10/2025SenateFrom committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on JUD. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 5. Noes 0. Page 740.) (April 9).
4/9/2025Senate
Bill Text
Chaptered
10/1/2025
Enrolled
9/16/2025
Amended Assembly
7/15/2025
Amended Senate
4/21/2025
Amended Senate
4/10/2025
Introduced
3/4/2025