§ 2-233. Retirement system reciprocity

The purpose of these reciprocal provisions is to implement an agreement pursuant to California Government Code section 20042, entered into between the city council and the board of administration, Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS).

All provisions of this system are hereby amended to the extent necessary to provide the following obligations, rights and benefits with respect to members who become members of PERS or are members of PERS and become members of this system, provided that the termination of any entry into employment resulting in such membership change occurs within a period of six (6) months.

(1) A member whose movement between systems occurs as herein specified shall have the right to elect to leave his accumulated contributions on deposit irrespective of the amount of such contributions or the length of service credited to him, such election to be irrevocable while membership in PERS continues.

(2) Age of entry for a person (entering) this system, for purposes of fixing member contribution rates in this system, shall be his age at entry into PERS membership.

(3) The average monthly salary during any period of service as a member of PERS shall be considered compensation earnable by a member of this system for purposes of computing final compensation for such member, provided he retires concurrently under both systems and is credited with such period of service under PERS at the time of retirement.

(4) Service, solely for purposes of meeting minimum service qualifications for benefits and retirement allowances under this system, shall also include service rendered as an officer or employee of PERS if the salary for such service constitutes compensation earnable by a member of this system.

(5) A member shall be retired for disability and receive a retirement allowance based on the service credited to him at the time of retirement during any period in which he received a disability retirement allowance under PERS, provided, that such allowance shall not exceed an amount which, when added to the allowance paid under PERS, equals the allowance which would be paid for a non-industrial disability if all the member's service has been credited under PERS, and provided further, that such allowance shall in no event be less than an annuity which is the actuarial equivalent of the member's contributions, whether or not the disability is for industrial reasons.

(6) The death benefit for a member who dies from non-industrial causes as a member of PERS shall not exceed an amount which, when added to the death benefit paid for such member under PERS, equals the maximum death benefit payable under that system, provided however, that such death benefit shall be at least the amount of the accumulated contributions, and provided further, that if death is caused by industrial injury or disease while a member of PERS, the death benefit shall be the amount of the member's accumulated contributions.

(7) The governing body of this system shall, on the request of PERS, supply information and data necessary for administration of such system as it is affected by membership in and service credited under this system.

(8) Interpretation of these provisions shall be made with reference to interpretations that have been made relative to the Public Employees' Retirement System, 1937 Act, county employees' retirement reciprocal provisions upon which they are based.

(9) These provisions shall apply only to a member whose termination and entry into employment resulting in a change in membership from this system to such other system or from such other system to this system occurred after such acceptance by the board or after the effective date specified in the agreement, provided however, that provisions relating to computation or final compensation shall apply to any other member if such provision would have applied as the termination and entry into employment occurred after such acceptance or determination by a system's governing board.

(10) All rights under this system are subject to modification as may be necessary to conform to amendments to the Public Employees' Retirement Law or the County Employees' Retirement Law of 1937, as provided in Government Code section 20042.

(Ord. No. 78-13, § 2, 2-21-78; Ord. No. 98-3, § 1, 2-2-98; Ord. No. 02-19, § 1, 11-18-02 )