Article 2. Administration Of The Plan of California Education Code >> Division 1. >> Title 1. >> Part 13. >> Chapter 35. >> Article 2.

Every teacher and every other employee of the school districts for which the plan for district retirement is adopted, who is employed by the districts at the time of the adoption of the plan, and who signs an agreement to be subject to the burdens of the district retirement plan, shall be entitled to the benefits and subject to the burdens of the plan and of this chapter. Every teacher employed in the public schools of the districts after the adoption of the provisions of this chapter by the governing boards of the districts, and any other employees the boards or the petition determines, shall be bound by the benefits and burdens of this chapter.

Any plan shall not be adopted or established until the governing boards, after any inquiry and hearing they may direct, find that the respective contributions of the teachers and other employees and the districts provided for in the plan, are substantially in accordance with the more recent generally prevailing rates of contributions in public institutions that have established retirement systems, and that the plan is in accordance with sound business practice and with recognized actuarial methods.

The plan may provide that the retirement salary shall be a stipulated monthly sum, or that all benefits under the retirement feature of the plan shall be based upon the monthly salary for each year of future active service in the district earned by the employee up to the date of retirement and upon the average monthly salary earned by the teacher or other eligible employee during the year immediately preceding the adoption of the plan and the number of years of past active service of the employee in the district, and subject to those provisions made in the plan for minimum benefits. No employee with less than 15 years' service in the district prior to normal retirement age shall receive the benefit of the minimum. In no instance shall the retirement benefits be based upon or allowed for any amount of salary in excess of the sum of five hundred dollars ($500) per month.

In lieu of the authorizations or requirements provided for in Sections 24920 and 24922, the plan may provide only that the retirement salary shall be based on service rendered prior to the effective date of the plan or prior to July 1, 1944, and shall be an amount which, when added to the retirement allowance the respective member is entitled to receive under the State Teachers' Retirement System, shall equal a sum of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) per month and Sections 24920 and 24922 shall not be applicable thereto. The costs of the benefits under such a plan may be met by the contributions of the districts alone, notwithstanding Sections 35161, 35162, Article 1 (commencing with Section 7000) of Chapter 1 of Part 5, Article 2 (commencing with Section 10010) of Chapter 1 of Part 7, Article 1 (commencing with Section 12500) of Chapter 5 of Part 8, this part, Article 5 (commencing with Section 32340) of Chapter 3 of Part 19, and Part 25 (commencing with Section 44000), and only teachers who have credit for service rendered prior to that date shall be subject to the plan.

(a) A plan established under this chapter that is intended to provide supplemental benefits only on account of service rendered before July 1, 1944, may be discontinued by the governing board of the district, subject to the following conditions:
  (1) Notwithstanding Sections 35161, 35162, Article 1 (commencing with Section 7000) of Chapter 1, Article 2 (commencing with Section 10010) of Chapter 1 of Part 7, Article 1 (commencing with Section 12500) of Chapter 5 of Part 8, this part, Article 5 (commencing with Section 32340) of Chapter 3 of Part 19, and Part 25 (commencing with Section 44000), any teacher who is not retired on July 1, 1956, shall be entitled to the contributions made by him or her to the discontinued plan with interest credited in accordance with the rules and regulations of the local retirement plan up to and including June 30, 1957. Likewise, a teacher who retired prior to July 1, 1956, shall be entitled to a refund equal to the actuarial equivalent, at his or her attained age, of the annuity that would have been provided by the total contributions required of the member under the system, based on interest and mortality tables currently in use, less the amount of any contributions remaining unpaid on the date of discontinuance. The amount to which any teacher is entitled under this section shall be paid to him or her within 90 days of his or her request in writing on a form provided by and filed with the local retirement system. All requests shall be filed prior to July 1, 1959.
  (2) The district in which the plan is discontinued shall pay monthly to teachers, who were retired prior to the date of the discontinuance, an amount equal to the amount by which the retirement allowance to which any of these retired teachers was entitled under the plan exceeds the increase in the teacher's retirement allowance under the State Teachers' Retirement System after the discontinuance. In lieu of the monthly payment, the district may elect to pay in a single sum the amount that shall be the actuarial equivalent to the monthly amount thereafter payable, according to the interest rate and mortality table currently in use under the plan. Payment of the amount shall discharge fully the district's liability to the teacher under this subdivision. The arrangement under which the amounts are paid by the district shall not be considered to be a local retirement system for the purposes of Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 22000) to Chapter 31 (commencing with Section 24600), inclusive, nor shall the amount be taken into account in the calculation of the retirement allowances under the State Teachers' Retirement System.
  (b) Any person who was retired prior to July 1, 1956, from a position requisite for membership in the State Teachers' Retirement System, under a district supplemental retirement salary plan which has been discontinued pursuant to this section, and elected either under the plan or under the system, but not under both, to have a portion of his or her retirement allowance modified according to an option under which he or she would receive a smaller allowance and provide for a benefit for his or her beneficiary, that person shall have the right, to be exercised not later than 60 days after July 5, 1956, to change his or her election under the State Teachers' Retirement System with respect to those options. Any computations of actuarial equivalents under a changed election shall be made as of the effective date, and no adjustment shall be included in the computation on account of retirement allowance payments made prior to that date.
  (c) When any local retirement plan is discontinued under this section, all funds remaining in the district retirement fund of the local system shall be transferred to the general fund of the school district in which the plan is discontinued. Thereafter any payments to meet continuing obligations of the district arising from the establishment or discontinuance of the plan shall be paid from the general fund of the district.

The governing boards, after the adoption of the plan, shall at regular intervals, each not exceeding a period of five years, secure a general survey and actuarial report of the plan, and the boards shall from time to time amend the plan in any manner found to be advisable to meet changed conditions, or, in the light of experience, considered necessary.

A plan under which the districts establishing it agree to pay to employees who become entitled to retirement salaries within a specified period, not exceeding 15 years, after the establishment of the plan, a specified sum that, during the life expectancy of the employees, will be approximately equal, in the aggregate, to the aggregate difference, during the life expectancy, between the maximum salary paid to employees in the respective classes of the retiring employees, and the salaries paid to beginning employees in the classes, shall be construed to comply with the provisions of this chapter requiring the plan to be in accordance with sound business practices and recognized actuarial methods.

For the purpose of providing funds that may be necessary to make the payments required by any joint district retirement plan, district taxes shall be levied and collected annually by the respective districts at the same time and in the same manner as other district taxes are levied and collected. The tax shall be in addition to any other district tax now or hereafter authorized by law, and shall not be considered in fixing maximum rates of tax for school district or community college district purposes.

Every joint district retirement plan shall provide that only those teachers and other employees who have served as teachers or employees of the districts for at least 20 years of service immediately preceding retirement, and who have reached a minimum age specified in the joint district retirement plan, which shall not be less than 55 years, shall be entitled to a district retirement salary.

The plan may provide for the retirement of teachers or other employees on account of disability after 10 years of service immediately prior to the retirement, the proportion of the disability retirement salary to the full retirement salary to be specified in the plan.

Absence from service by reason of a leave of absence granted by the governing board of an employing district shall not be construed as a break in the continuity of service or by any district retirement plan adopted pursuant to the provisions hereof, but the period of leave shall not be counted as time served toward retirement unless the period is so counted under the State Teachers Retirement Act.

Time of service may be counted in the aggregate and fractions of years amounting to whole years may be counted as whole years when payments by the teacher or other employee have been made for all of the time counted.

The governing boards of the districts shall in all cases determine the teachers and other employees who are entitled to retirement salaries, and make and keep a list of the teachers and other employees, known as the retired list. For the purpose of making the retired list the boards may take testimony and examine witnesses under oath, which may be administered by any member of the board.

The governing boards of the districts may make all necessary and proper rules and regulations in aid or furtherance of the provisions of this chapter and in order to carry out and administer the provisions.

When a joint district retirement plan is established there shall be created in the treasury of the county in which the districts are located, or, if the districts are located in more than one county, in the treasury of the county selected by the governing boards of the districts meeting in joint session, and open upon the books of the auditor and treasurer of the county, a trust fund account designated as the "joint district retirement fund." All moneys, whether from contributions by teachers or other employees, or by the districts, or from any source, properly belonging to the joint district retirement fund shall be placed in the fund. Upon approval of the joint district retirement board all incidental expenses, including actual and necessary clerical or other help, incurred in carrying out the provisions of this chapter shall be paid out of the fund and in the same manner as other expenditures are paid from district funds.

Members of governing boards shall discharge the powers, duties, purposes, responsibilities, and jurisdiction conferred or imposed upon the governing boards under this chapter without extra or additional compensation.

The governing boards of the districts establishing the retirement plan shall provide for the administration of the funds and the payment of retirement salaries by a joint district retirement board composed of three persons not officers or employees of any of the districts, one representative of each district, one representative of the teachers of each district and one representative of the other employees of each district, who shall serve without compensation. The representatives chosen by the teachers and other employees shall be chosen by secret ballot. The county treasurer of the county in the county treasury of which the joint district retirement fund is created shall be ex officio a member of the joint district retirement board. All members of the retirement board shall serve for such terms as may be specified by the governing boards in establishing a plan. The joint district retirement board shall have such further powers and duties as may be prescribed by the governing boards of the districts.

(a) The joint district retirement board shall have charge and control of the district retirement fund of the district and of the payment of all retirement salaries and annuities payable from the fund. The joint district retirement board shall invest the funds in securities that are legal for the investment of funds of savings banks in this state and shall sell the securities and reinvest the proceeds in securities legal for investment of funds of savings banks when in the judgment of the joint district retirement board the sale and reinvestment is advisable. No investment in or sale of securities shall be made except upon authorization of the joint district retirement board at a meeting of the board.
  (b) The board also shall collect the income from the securities and pay it into the joint district retirement fund.

The joint district retirement board may sue in its own name when necessary to carry out the powers and duties conferred upon it. The district attorney, or, if there is a county counsel, the county counsel of the county in which are employed the largest number of employees entitled to the benefits and subject to the burdens of the joint district retirement plan shall act as attorney for the joint district retirement board without additional compensation.

All securities purchased by the joint district retirement board shall be deposited with the county treasurer for safekeeping.

(a) All payments from the joint district retirement fund shall be made in the same manner as payments from school district funds but shall be subject to approval of the joint district retirement board. Warrants drawn on the fund shall be signed by at least one member of the joint district retirement board who shall be designated by the board.
  (b) The duties imposed upon the county treasurer shall be a part of his or her official duties, for the faithful performance of which he or she shall be liable upon his or her official bond.

The county auditor of the county in the county treasury of which the "joint district retirement fund" is created shall audit the accounts of the joint district retirement board at least once every 12 months and report upon the financial condition thereof to the governing boards of the districts.

The retirement salaries provided for in this chapter shall be in addition to any other retirement salaries received by any person under Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 22000) to Chapter 31 (commencing with Section 24600), inclusive, or as may be otherwise provided by law.

The retirement salaries provided for in this chapter for all other employees, shall be in addition to any other retirement salaries that may be provided by law.

Whenever by the provisions of this chapter, the governing boards of two or more school districts are required, or authorized, to perform any act, the act may be done only at joint meetings of the boards, and no action shall be taken by the boards except upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the members of a majority of the boards.