Article 7. Optional Settlements of California Government Code >> Division 2. >> Title 2. >> Part 1. >> Chapter 3.5. >> Article 7.

In lieu of the retirement allowance for his life alone, a member or retired member may elect, or revoke or change a previous election, to have the actuarial equivalent of his retirement allowance as of the date of retirement applied to a lesser retirement allowance, in accordance with one of the optional settlements specified in this article.

(a) The election, revocation, or change of election set forth in Section 9361 may be made at any time before the effective date of retirement or after the effective date and prior to the making of the first payment on account of any retirement allowance.
  (b) If at any time before the making of the first payment on account of the member's retirement allowance, his or her spouse dies, or his or her marriage is terminated by a final judgment of divorce or annulment, the election of the member is automatically void, and the member may make a new election.
  (c) A member who has elected an optional settlement providing for the payment of a benefit to his or her spouse may at any time before the making of the first payment on account of his or her retirement allowance substitute a different optional settlement.
  (d) The election, revocation, or change of election shall be made by a writing filed with the board.
  (e) If a member who is eligible for retirement has elected one of the optional settlements specified in this article, the surviving spouse of that member shall receive the same benefits as the surviving spouse would have received if the date of his or her death had also been the date of his or her retirement and if retirement had preceded death. If in that event benefits are paid to a surviving spouse, no payment shall be made pursuant to Section 9359.8. If a member dies without having elected an optional settlement and there is a surviving spouse, he or she shall be deemed for the purposes of this paragraph to have elected Optional Settlement No. 2. In either case, the benefits payable to the surviving spouse shall be in the same amount as if the member had elected to receive credit for service rendered prior to the date he or she became a member of this system and had paid the full amount of the contributions in respect to that service.
  (f) Any election filed under this section prior to the effective date of the amendments to this section enacted by the Legislature at the 1957 Regular Session shall continue to be effective in accordance with the terms of this section as it read prior to those amendments and may thereafter be revoked or changed or become void only in accordance with this section as it read prior to such amendment.

Notwithstanding any provision of this part, a retired member who was a Member of the Senate or Assembly may revoke an optional settlement and may designate a different beneficiary by a writing filed with the board. The new beneficiary shall receive an allowance based upon the actuarial equivalent, as of the date of the election, of the retired member's allowance payable for the remainder of the lifetime of the retired member under one of the optional settlements specified in this article.

A member may designate one or more persons as beneficiaries. If more than one person is designated under an optional settlement involving life contingency of the beneficiary, the member will be deemed to have elected such optional settlement on an equal portion of his allowance independently for each beneficiary.

Optional Settlement 1 consists of the right to have a retirement allowance paid him or her until his or her death and if he or she dies before he or she receives the amount of his or her accumulated contributions at retirement, to have the balance at death paid to his or her beneficiary or estate.

Optional Settlement 2 consists of the right to have a retirement allowance paid him or her until his or her death and thereafter to his or her beneficiary for life.

Optional Settlement 3 consists of the right to have a retirement allowance paid him or her until his or her death, and thereafter to have one-half of his or her retirement allowance paid to his or her beneficiary for life.

Optional Settlement 4 consists of such other benefits as are the actuarial equivalent of his retirement allowance, that he may select subject to the approval of the board.