Legislation

Overview

Legislation

Stay informed about recent legislation that may have an effect on your retirement benefits. CCCERA is governed by the California Constitution (Article 16 – Public Finance, Section 17); the County Employees Retirement Law of 1937 (CERL); the California Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013 (PEPRA), and is subject to various other state and federal laws including the Internal Revenue Code. These laws are continuously changing.

For the most current information on California legislation, refer to the California Legislative Information website.

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AB 1020
County Employees Retirement Law Of 1937: Disability Retirement: Medical Conditions: Employment-Related Presumption

Assembly Bill 1020 was enacted effective January 1, 2024.  It concerns disability presumptions under the County Employees Retirement Law of 1937 (CERL).  Existing law provides that participants in certain membership categories may be entitled to special benefits if the injury that causes their disability arises in the course of their employment.  Existing law creates presumptions, for purposes of qualification for disability retirement benefits for specified members, that certain injuries, arose out of and in the course of employment.

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SECURE Act of 2022
Change in Required Minimum Distribution Age

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) generally requires that when deferred members reach a certain age prescribed by law, they begin receiving required minimum distributions from the plan. 

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AB 845
Disability Retirement: COVID-19 Presumption

Status: Enacted. Effective January 1, 2022. Sunset/repeal: December 31, 2023.

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AB 197
Contribution Corrections

AB 197 Frequently Asked Questions

In July of 2020, the California Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision upholding the constitutionality of the legislative changes contained in AB 197 to the definition of “compensation earnable.” More information about the legislative changes can be found in the Frequently Asked Questions.

Based on the California Supreme Court decision the CCCERA Retirement Board took action to correct retirement contributions for members that paid contributions in the following situations:

  1. Contributions provided to CCCERA from July 12, 2014 to June 30, 2015 on excluded terminal pay items.
  2. Contributions provided to CCCERA from July 12, 2014 to present on on-call pay items.

Members eligible for a contribution correction were mailed a letter in February 2022 and provided the option of receiving their contribution correction payment as a direct deposit. CCCERA has been processing payments according to the forms received. A check will be mailed to members that do not send a form authorizing the direct deposit. Checks will be mailed by summer 2022.

What are terminal pay items?

Terminal pay items are payments an employer provides to an employee at the time of the employee’s termination from employment and previously may be included in the retirement calculation. Once AB 197 was enacted it excluded the inclusion of some of these pay items going forward in “compensation earnable”, except those payments that do not exceed what is earned and payable in each 12-month period during the final average salary period. Since an employee’s contribution rates are determined based on the projections of future pay items they may receive, some employees may have paid a higher retirement contribution rate due to the projected future terminal pay items. Terminal pay items identified in AB 197 were no longer included in the projection of contribution rates effective July 1, 2015.

How is the terminal pay contribution correction calculated?

To calculate the terminal pay contribution correction amount the total pensionable compensation from July 12, 2014 to June 30, 2015 is determined and multiplied by the terminal pay percentage calculated by the CCCERA actuaries by each Cost Group and outlined in this letter - Segal Letter

What are on-call pay items?

On-call pay items are compensation provided to an employee for being available to be called into work outside of their normal working hours. Compensation of this type may also be called standby.

How are the on-call pay contribution corrections calculated?

To calculate the on-call pay items contribution correction the compensation amount paid to the member is multiplied by the contribution rate in effect during the time period. Contribution rates can be found in the contribution rate packets. Any subvention by the member or employer of contributions is factored into the calculation.

AB 197 Overview

On September 12, 2012, the Governor signed into law Assembly Bill 197, with an effective date of January 1, 2013. The measure changed how county retirement boards were permitted to calculate their current members’ retirement allowances.

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Past Legislation