SB 278

Bill Subjects

Abstract

(1) Existing law, the Public Employees' Retirement Law (PERL) , establishes the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) , which provides a defined benefit to members of the system, based on final compensation, credited service, and age at retirement, subject to certain variations. PERL authorizes a public agency to contract to make its employees members of PERS and prescribes a process for this. PERS is administered by its board of administration, which is responsible for correcting errors and omissions in the administration of the system and the payment of benefits. Existing law requires the board to correct all actions taken as a result of errors or omissions of the state or a contracting agency, in accordance with certain procedures. The California Public Employees' Pension Reform Act of 2013 (PEPRA) generally requires a public retirement system, as defined, to modify its plan or plans to comply with the act. PEPRA, among other things, establishes new defined benefit formulas and caps on pensionable compensation. This bill would establish new procedures under PERL for cases in which PERS determines that the benefits of a member or annuitant are, or would be, based on disallowed compensation that conflicts with PEPRA and other specified laws and thus impermissible under PERL. The bill would also apply these procedures retroactively to determinations made on or after January 1, 2017, if an appeal has been filed and the employee member, survivor, or beneficiary has not exhausted their administrative or legal remedies. At the threshold, after determining that compensation for an employee member reported by the state, school employer, or a contracting agency is disallowed, the bill would require the applicable employer to discontinue the reporting of the disallowed compensation. The bill would require that contributions made on the disallowed compensation, for active members, be credited against future contributions on behalf of the state, school employer, or contracting agency that reported the disallowed compensation and would require that the state, school employer, or contracting agency return to the member any contributions paid by the member or on the member's behalf. With respect to retired members, survivors, or beneficiaries whose benefits are based on disallowed final compensation, the bill would require PERS to adjust the benefit to reflect the exclusion of the disallowed compensation and provide that contributions made on the disallowed compensation be credited against future contributions on behalf of the employer entity that reported the disallowed compensation. Additionally, if specified conditions are met, the bill would require the employing entity to pay to the system the full cost of any overpayment of the prior paid benefit. The bill would further require the employing entity to pay a penalty of 20% of the amount calculated as a lump sum of the actuarial equivalent present value representing the difference between the monthly allowance that was based on the disallowed compensation and the adjusted monthly allowance, as specified, for the duration that allowance is projected to be paid by the system to the retired member, survivor, or beneficiary. Under the bill, the employing entity would be required to pay 90% of that penalty as restitution to the affected retired member, survivor, or beneficiary who was impacted by disallowed compensation and 10% of the penalty to the system. The bill would require the system to provide certain notices in this regard. This bill would require the system to provide confidential contact information of retired members, and their survivors and beneficiaries, who are affected by these provisions to the relevant employing entities, the confidentiality of which the entities would be required to maintain. The bill would authorize the state, a school employer, as specified, or a contracting agency, as applicable, to submit to the system an additional compensation item proposed to be included or contained in a memorandum of understanding or collective bargaining agreement on and after January 1, 2022, that is intended to form the basis of a pension benefit calculation in order for PERS to review its consistency with PEPRA and other laws, as specified, and would require PERS to provide guidance regarding the review within 90 days, as specified. The bill would require PERS to publish notices regarding proposed compensation language submitted to the system for review and the guidance given by the system that is connected with it. For educational entities that participate in the system, the final responsibility for funding payments to the system and to retired members, survivors, and beneficiaries would belong to the educational entity that is the actual employer of the employee. The bill would make related legislative findings and declarations. (2) Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.