Title GOV — California Gov. Code

(a) Notwithstanding Sections 31481 and 31760, optional settlement 5 consists of a retired member’s right to elect in writing to have his or her retirement allowance reduced and to designate his or her spouse who is not otherwise eligible to receive a survivor allowance. The survi…

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, if a retired member elects to have his or her retirement allowance reduced pursuant to Section 31764.6 and if, thereafter, the member’s spouse predeceases the member, the member’s allowance shall be adjusted to the amount h…

Upon the death of a member who was eligible to retire, in circumstances in which a death benefit is payable under Article 12, if the deceased member has designated as beneficiary the member’s spouse who survives the member by not less than 30 days, such surviving spouse may elect…

Upon the death of any member of a retirement system established in a county subject to the provisions of Section 31676.1 or Section 31695.1, eligible for retirement pursuant to Article 7.5, 8, or 8.7 who leaves a spouse designated as beneficiary, such surviving spouse may, in lie…

Notwithstanding Sections 31765 and 31765.1, upon the death of any member covered under Section 31751 who was either eligible for retirement or would have been entitled to disability retirement but died prior to such retirement and who leaves a spouse, such surviving spouse may, i…

Notwithstanding Section 31765.1, each survivor allowance paid pursuant to Section 31765.1 on account of a member who dies on or after the operative date of this section shall be equal to 65 percent of the monthly retirement allowance to which the deceased member would have been e…

(a) Notwithstanding Section 31765.1, each survivor allowance paid on or after the operative date of this section pursuant to Section 31765.1 on account of a member who dies before the operative date of this section shall be equal to 65 percent of the monthly retirement allowance …

Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter to the contrary, the board may, by a resolution adopted, pursuant to both this section and Section 31792, by a majority vote and with respect only to persons who first become members on or after the effective date of the resolut…

This article shall be known and may be cited as the “Deferred Retirement Option Program.”

(a) The Deferred Retirement Option Program is hereby created to provide eligible members who elect to participate in the program access to a lump sum, or in some cases, additional monthly payments for a specified period in addition to a monthly retirement allowance. (b) The desig…

Unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions contained in this section govern the construction of this article: (a) “DROP” or “program” means the Deferred Retirement Option Program established by this article, as adopted by a county or district. (b) “Election date” mean…

(a) This article, or selected provisions of this article, shall become effective in any county or district only when the county board of supervisors or governing board of the district adopts an ordinance or resolution providing for that implementation. The board of supervisors or…

(a) The board shall, upon the request of, and before adoption of, the implementing ordinance by the county board of supervisors or governing board of the district, cause an actuarial analysis to be conducted to determine whether the program, as proposed to be adopted, will be cos…

(a) The implementing ordinance shall establish the eligibility requirements for participation in the program, subject to this section and the collective bargaining agreement. The ordinance shall specify the minimum age and the minimum and maximum, if any, years of service credit …

(a) Upon adoption of the implementing ordinance, the retirement system shall establish procedures for notifying members of their rights under the program. (b) Each member, before electing to participate in the program, shall be given written information regarding how benefits und…

The right of a participant to benefits under the program is not subject to execution or any other process, except to the extent permitted by Section 704.110 of the Code of Civil Procedure, and is unassignable except as specifically provided under this chapter.

The rights of a participant or his or her spouse under the program shall be subject to any applicable provisions of law or court orders relating to dissolution of marriage, division of community property, and child or spousal support.

The provisions of this section to Section 31776.5, inclusive, shall be referred to collectively as the “forward DROP provisions.”

(a) Any member who elects to participate in the forward DROP provisions of the program shall make the election on a form prescribed and retained by the board. On that form the member shall do all of the following: (1) Designate a program period that will not exceed 60 months of e…

(a) On and after the election date, the participant shall cease to accrue retirement benefits under this chapter, and instead shall begin to accrue benefits under the program pursuant to the terms of this article, which benefits shall be credited to the participant’s program acco…

The implementing ordinance shall specify, based on the results of the actuarial analysis and the requirement that the program be cost neutral, as described in Section 31770.4, whether the employer shall be required to continue to make contributions to the system with respect to t…

(a) A program account shall be established within the system for each participant. No system assets shall be separately segregated for any program account. A participant may not have a claim on any specific assets of the system. (b) A participant’s program account shall be credit…

The board shall provide a statement to the participant that displays the value or balance of the participant’s program account and summarizes any credits to the account or other transactions that occurred after the immediately preceding valuation date. The statement of account sh…

(a) If a participant dies during the program period, he or she shall be deemed to have died while eligible for retirement and his or her benefits shall be calculated as if in active service, except as provided in subdivisions (b) and (c). (b) Benefits under Article 12 (commencing…

If a participant becomes eligible for disability retirement due to an injury or illness occurring during the program period or pursuant to Section 31720.5, 31720.6, or 31720.7, the participant shall elect to either: (a) Retire for disability, in which case the participant may app…

Participation in the program shall be terminated, and the member will not have a right or claim to any continuing benefits under the program upon the first occurrence of any of the following events: (a) Revocation of participation, as provided in subdivision (b) of Section 31771.…

Participation in the program shall be completed and the participant shall be entitled to benefits under the program upon the first occurrence of either of the following during the program period: (a) Retirement of the participant for service. (b) Death of the participant.

Upon termination of employment and retirement for service under the system, a participant shall: (a) Receive a distribution, in the manner prescribed in Section 31776.3, of the balance in the participant’s program account. (b) Begin receiving a monthly retirement allowance in an …

The participant’s monthly allowance shall be an amount equal to the monthly allowance the participant would have received if he or she had retired for service on the election date, subject to the following: (a) Any unused sick leave or vacation leave that accrued as of the electi…

(a) Unless the implementing ordinance otherwise provides, the balance in the participant’s program account shall be distributed to the participant in a single lump-sum payment at the time of retirement. If requested by the participant, the payment may be immediately deposited int…

(a) A participant may designate a person or persons as beneficiaries of the balance in the participant’s program account at any time during the program period. Any beneficiary or beneficiaries shall be designated on a form prescribed by the board, signed by the participant, and f…

The final compensation calculated under Section 31776.2 shall be the member’s final compensation for purposes of calculating any reciprocal benefits due the member from another retirement system pursuant to Article 15 (commencing with Section 31830).

(a) The provisions of this section shall be referred to as the “actuarial equivalent DROP provisions.” (b) A member who retires for service on or after the operative date of the program may elect, on a form prescribed by the board, to receive a lump-sum payment and an actuarially…

The provisions of this section through those of Section 31778.2, inclusive, shall be referred to collectively as the “backward DROP provisions.” A member who retires on or after the effective date of the program may elect upon application for service or disability retirement, on …

A member who makes the election described in Section 31778 shall receive a one-time lump-sum payment upon retirement in an amount as calculated below. (a) A participant’s program account shall be credited with an amount equal to the retirement allowance the member would have rece…

(a) If a participant dies during the period from the deferred calculation date to the election date, he or she shall be deemed to have died while eligible for the deferred retirement option and the participant’s eligible spouse or other beneficiary shall be qualified to elect the…

(a) A participant may designate a person or persons as beneficiaries of the participant’s program account at any time during the period from the deferred retirement calculation date to the election date. The beneficiary or beneficiaries shall be designated on a form prescribed by…

Upon termination of employment and retirement from the system, a member who has elected to participate in the program shall receive the member’s program payment, as calculated pursuant to Section 31778.1 and in accordance with the distribution provisions of Sections 31776.3, 3177…

(a) After the program has been in effect for a period of at least four years and not more than 10 years, as specified in the implementing ordinance, or up to one year prior to the end of that specified period, the board shall cause an actuarial analysis of the cost impact of the …

The rights of a participant who has retired under the program, whose deferred retirement calculation date, or whose program period is in effect at the time the program is discontinued may not be affected by the discontinuance of the program and that participant shall remain subje…

If the program is modified pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 31779, participants who entered, or who were eligible for, the program prior to the effective date of the modification shall be entitled to elect whether to become subject to the modified provision…

As long as the program remains in effect, either as originally adopted or as modified pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 31779, the board of retirement shall cause an actuarial analysis of the cost impact of the program to be prepared as provided in Section 3…

Upon the death before retirement of a member while in service or while physically or mentally incapacitated for the performance of his duty, if such incapacity has been continuous from discontinuance of service, or within one month after discontinuance of service unless the membe…

A child eligible to receive a survivor benefit under Section 31760.1, 31781.1, 31786, or 31787 shall be considered unmarried if the child is not married as of the date the member dies, whether or not the child was previously married. If the child thereafter marries, eligibility f…

(a) Any benefits accorded to a spouse pursuant to this article and Article 11 (commencing with Section 31760), Article 15.5 (commencing with Section 31841), Article 15.6 (commencing with Section 31855), and Article 16 (commencing with Section 31861), or any of them, may be accord…

The death benefit shall consist of: (a) The member’s accumulated contributions. (b) An amount, provided from contributions by the county or district, equal to one-twelfth of the annual compensation earnable or pensionable compensation as defined in Section 7522.34, whichever is a…

Notwithstanding Section 31781, the death benefit of a member covered under Section 31751 shall consist of: (a) The member’s accumulated contributions. (b) A lump sum of two thousand dollars ($2,000) offset by any lump-sum death payment made under the federal Social Security Act.…

(a) If a member of a retirement system established in a county subject to the provisions of Section 31676.1 would have been entitled to retirement in the event of a non-service-connected disability, but dies as the result of an injury or illness prior to retirement, the surviving…

The board of supervisors of a county of the first class as described by Sections 28020 and 28022 may, by resolution adopted by a majority vote, increase the amounts of the death benefits payable pursuant to Sections 31760.1, 31765.1, 31781.1, and 31785, with respect to a death oc…

Notwithstanding Section 31781.1, each allowance paid pursuant to Section 31781.1 on account of a member who dies on or after the operative date of this section shall be equal to 65 percent of the monthly retirement allowance to which the deceased member would have been entitled, …