1. Payments to trust accounts.  Under CERL, the board of retirement is required to comply with and give effect to a revocable written authorization signed by a retired member or beneficiary of a retired member, as described, authorizing the treasurer or other entity authorized by the board to deliver the monthly warrant, check, or electronic fund transfer for the retirement allowance or benefit to any specified bank, savings and loan institution, or credit union to be credited to the account of the retired member or survivor of a deceased retired member. This bill defines “account of the retired member or survivor of a deceased retired member” to include an account held in a living trust or an income-only trust, as specified.
    
2. Overpayments of benefits.   Under the California Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013 (PEPRA), Government Code section 7522.56, a retired person is prohibited from serving, or being employed by, as specified, a public employer in the same public retirement system from which the retiree receives the benefit without reinstatement from retirement, unless an exception applies. (See also CERL sections 31680.2, 31680.3 and 31680.6.)  Under PEPRA, one of those exceptions authorizes a retired person to serve without reinstatement if appointed by the appointing power of a public employer during an emergency to prevent stoppage of public business or because the retired person has skills needed to perform work of limited duration. That law limits those appointments to 960 hours in a year.  The rate of pay for the employment shall not be less than the minimum, nor exceed the maximum, paid by the employer to other employees performing comparable duties, divided by 173.333 to equal an hourly rate.  A retired person whose employment without reinstatement is authorized shall acquire no service credit or retirement rights with respect to the employment unless he or she reinstates from retirement.    

This bill requires a retired member employed in violation of specified provisions of CERL and PEPRA to reimburse the retirement system for any allowance received during the period in violation and to pay other related amounts, as specified.

The bill also requires a public employer that employs a retired member in violation of CERL or PEPRA, if the retired member is reinstated, to pay the retirement system an amount of money equal to the employer contributions that would otherwise have been paid, plus interest, for the period of time that the member was employed in violation of these provisions, and to contribute toward reimbursement for reasonable administrative expenses of the system. The bill further authorizes the board of a retirement system under CERL to:

1. Assess a fee of $200 per retired member per month until the retiree is enrolled upon an employer that fails to enroll a retired member without reinstatement, subject to certain procedural and notice requirements.
    
2. Provide that if an employer fails to report the pay rate and number of hours worked of a retired member employed in any capacity, without reinstatement, within 30 days following the last day of the pay period in which the retired member worked, the retirement board may assess the employer a fee of $200 per retired member per month until the information is reported.

The bill provides that the employer shall not pass on to an employee any fees assessed on the employer for violation of these post-retirement employment restrictions.

Status:  Enacted. Effective 1/1/2025.